Memoriam
by AllureingEyes
Summary: Sequel to Hot Ashenvale Nights..."Who said ya could die." He whispered. "Leetle elfie."
1. A Common Factor

Scroll 1

Death is the one common factor that everyone shares. As much a part of life as living. And in the midst of battle, you never feel closer to someone as when you do with 6 inches of steel between their ribs. Watching their light die is a precious moment to be remembered, and she had so very many of those memories.

Things change and people move on. Adapt and adjust. The Sundering changed millions of lives. But they adapted. Now the scars of that fight were just that. Scars. And scars heal over time.

TTT

It had been a year since Alliance and Horde forces had landed on Pandaria. Tempers were escalating with the discovery of the heart of the old god. Alliance and Horde alike were gathering resources to beseige Orgrimmar, where the Mad Warcheif sat. Led by Vol'jin, the Darkspear revolution was coming to a close, the Seige of Orgrimmar was begining.

None of this mattered however, to a night elf sitting in the Jade Forest. East of Nectarbreeze village, across the river, in a feild of grass she sat. Her hands gripped the long grass as she sat on her hands and knees. Sweat beaded on her brow as she concentrated, her hands curling reflexively but to no avail. No change took place. She took a deep breath and dug deep inside herself, scrambling desperately for that wild part of nature that she held so dear, before slamming her fists into the ground as she screamed her defeat.

A year after being awakened and she still couldn't shape change. Her bond with nature had taken lots of time and nurturing to return to its former strength, but her skin remained as steadfast and stubborn as ever, refusing to slip away. Sighing, the woman laid down on her stomach on the grass, closing her eyes as it tickled her cheeks. The wind in this forest was always so playful. She supposed it had somthing to do with the Pandaran and their steadfast peacefullness. The moment foreign forces had landed, harsh words about the other on their lips and a quick hand for violence, they had accidentally released something. Something they had never seen. A force made of the collective emotions of everyone on the land. The Sha.

This new threat was able to burn its way through hearts and minds with its dark fire. Worming its way through you with negative emotions, reading your deepest fears. What made you explode in a rage. What did you fear most? Why did you need to take orders from others when you are so much better? It was like that dark part of your thoughts that you kept locked away had been opened and set loose, and Luna had so much darkness inside her. She avoided the Sha at any cost. It would be so easy to destroy her.

The Alliance had grudgingly agreed not to try to kill her on sight anymore. But she was far from accepted back into the ranks. And she wasn't sure she wanted to be. This new land offered more opportunites for her. Places to explore, people to meet. Maybe one of the Pandaran masters could help her change shape again. But until that time, she had taken a different path, quite the opposite of her Feral roots. She had earned a new reputation as a cold and calculating healer. Even more frightening than her panther claws, she could heal many people at once with a calculating eye, never healing too much, saving every bit of energy she could for when it was needed most. Anyone with a dangerous mission, a personal quest, or an explorer of the depths of the world wanted the healer with the opalescent hair.

And she hated it.

She had too much darkness to take a balanced path, and guarding people wasn't her forte. Killing was her proffesion. Destroying her enemies and a shower of fur and claws was her calling. But it was the cold knowledge of how to efficiently kill someone that made her an efficient healer. She knew the bodies workings. What cut would kill them fastest, which the slowest. What parts needed reignforcement for optimal performance in battle.

It had taken alot to claw her way back out from death, only to find out she had lost everything. Her abilities were gone, many of her friends had died in the Cataclysm, her own personal possesions were gone. Mamiru had died on Darkshore, drowned and washed ashore. Her brother had lived, barely, but she hadn't been to see him. Elune had granted her wish to spare his life for hers, she wasn't sure how she felt about it. She wondered if he could feel her life in him. Her heartbeat, her breath.

After saving the Tauren upon her awakening, she became weak, unable to move. The young bull had helped her. She grasped the bit of horn hanging from around her neck on a leather thong. It had been polished and smoothed from her constant rubbing. She considered it a charm of good faith. She smiled against the grass as she recalled the Tauren hunting for her, giving her some old leather clothing from his pack and the packs of his former comrades, helping her relearn to walk on shakey legs. Elune had sent him there to help her she beleived, knowing she would need him.

Before going their separate ways, she had kissed him on the forehead, between his horns, and was shocked when his fur turned white where her lips had been. She had almost paniced, but he hushed her with a booming chuckle and a pat on the shoulder. Motioning to her piece of his horn, he pointed back to his new spot. They each had a momento of eachother now. Smiling solftly, she watched him until he was out of sight, absorbed by the mountains. She had walked back to the remains of her amber chamber, the tall oval of the tree was completely smooth inside, shards of amber glass littered the ground around the roots. Something caught her eye among the amber. It was a fetish. Decorated with beads and bright colored feathers, painted with old troll runes. They were good luck charms. Trolls rarely parted with these willingly, having them since childhood made them precious to them.

Reaching down to pick it up, she saw a flash of fire to moment her fingers brushed it. Parting her lips she gasped lightly and jerked her fingers away. Taking a steadying breath, she bent down and grabbed it, mewling when she was cast into memoriam.

"Jak." She whispered. She felt his tears dripping onto her cheek. Heard his shakey breath rattle next to her. Her hand was clasped tightly in his. She wanted to tell him it would be alright, that she was ok, to entwine her fingers through his. But this was a memory, and she was dead.

"Who said ya could die." He whispered to her. "Leetle elfie."

She had been thrust into reality with a pain in her heart and tears on her cheeks. Suddenly the fetish held much more meaning to her. Wiping her cheeks, she used a piece of twine from one of the orcs boots to tie the fetish into her hair so it fell over her shoulder to rest on her collarbone. She could hide it if need be by flipping it over her shoulder. A year later she lay on her stomach on the green green grass, the fetish in hand, eyes closed and breathing deep. She dreamed of him.

TTT

Welcome back! I hope you like this intro chapter. I know its a little short but I'm still working on how to tie this all together. I promise to update soon since I wanna know what happens as well!


	2. Fields of Slaughter

**~ A big huge thanks to Roguekittiekat for being the first person to review the first chapter! And I'm very glad you enjoyed it, I love writing about this because there is so much room for flexibility. Backrounds can be told, worked in or out. People can be created and interwoven into the storyline without damaging it. It's just plain fun!~**

Scroll 2

With the eruption of the Darkspear revolution, many members of the Horde found themselves at odds with friends and loved ones. A son may disagree with his father about the direction that Garrosh wished to lead them. Best friends suddenly faced each other across battlefeilds. Lives and limbs were lost to the rising tides of anger. Families were wiped out. Livelihoods were desimated. But I think the worst thing to happen in this war, are the broken hearts left behind.

TTTT

Since having woken up in her tree, Lunaea has found herself more accepting of the other races. Humans didn't seem quite so useless in their short lived lives, and had proven to be capable warriors. Tauren were no longer lumbering beasts, but children of the earth, much like the Night elves. Orcs, while still brutish and gruff, stuck to their beleifs with a fervor equal to any priest of the light. Trolls...Trolls had recently shown themselves to be feirce defenders of their kin and loved ones. Thus, the siege.

So here she stood at the sealed gates of Orgrimaar, a rather large and imposing defensive machine before her, created in the likeness of the Kor'kron scorpions. Various corpses lines the ground at its feet, trolls and tauren mostly. Vol'jin and Baine Bloodhoof had been reeling when the Alliance had arrived and evened the odds.

"Don't be foolish Vol'jin! You have no siege weapons left! You cannot win this battle!" Shouted Nazgrim from atop the battlements.

"Our casualties are too heavy." Said Baine in his booming voice.

"Ain't no other way, mon." Vol'jin kneeled and shook his head. "We gotta stop Garrosh here an' now, else we be runnin' the rest of our lives." He gripped his bow so tightly the wood groaned in protest. Baine, suddenly noticing the approaching figures, grinned.

"Perhaps our new-found reinforcements will aid us." Causing the troll leader to whip around and grin as well.

"Dey must have taken da docks!" He exclaimed to his friend, before turning back to the alliance members before him.

"Ha ha! Welcome to da fields of slaughter." He told them happily, dramatically waving his arms in a 'please come inside' motion. As they filed past him to prepare for battle once again, Vol'jin zeroed in on a strange Night elf. A woman with hair so pale and white it seemed opalscent. It glimmered in the sunshine pink, green, blue and silver. But even more eye catching, was the troll fetish that hung from it. He stared as she walked by. She wore it proudly hanging over her shoulder, knotted in place with a string of worn leather. He suddenly noticed she had stopped next to him, and was reguarding him with a blank, if not mildly curious, look.

Her eyes roamed over his armor, his war paint, the beads woven into his hair, and stopped on the ragged gash on his upper arm. She noted that he looked dirty and exausted as she extended her arm quick as lightning and laid it upon his arm. Green energy was swirling before he could protest and his arm was healed smooth before he could look down. Wiping his arm as she moved her hand away, she turned and moved to stand with her group without a word. Looking at his arm, Vol'jin noticed nothing but smooth skin where the ragged cut had been. He had been expecting it to heal into a new scar. Looking at his friend, the Tauren did nothing but raise his eyebrows and chuff, his tail flicking in amusement.

"Dey be heros." Mumbled the troll, "No doubt about that." The battle had begun.

TTT

The siege weapon stood before them, stomping the ground and clicking wildly. All attempts to lure the machine away from the gate had failed, evidenced by the piles of corpses surrounding it. So, it seemed like it was time to fight.

Taking the time to identify the exaust ports and assigning mages to each port, they marched. Screeching as they finally came into range, the Juggernaut charged at them. The battle became intense quickly as the machine spewed fire and shot lazers at them. It spit hot tar and forced them back with a shock wave as it set crawler mines after them, causing Lunaea and the other healers to exaust their stores of mana and energy. It was a long battle. Hours had come and gone with no knowledge of them passing. More warriors being sent in as more fell. More healers, more bodies. It had taken countless mages and hunters throwing traps to clog the exhaust ports with ice so thick it couldnt be melted. At least not quickly. It wasn't until the machine sputtered and choked for a moment before the morale of the troops raised. It was going down.

Screeching once more, it sent out one last attempt to stop them. Crawler mines honed in on their targets, racing after them as their timers ticked along. Lunaea watched as a mine ran after the warrior standing next to her. She lifted her hands to heal him preemptively, the words of a spell on her lips. But the mine had leapt at him too quickly, and exploded mid-air before them both.

The draenai warrior had died instantly, the shrapnel shredding through his armor. Lunaea felt his life snuff out as quickly as a candle in a wind storm. He had felt no pain. Luna, who had been driven to her back from the force of the explosion, lifted her head just in time to see the siege weapon fall in a crumpled heap, steam and sparks shooting out of its mouth.

"Da beast be slain!" She heard Vol'jin exclaim over the cheers of the soldiers.

"You may have defeated my war machine, but the gate still stands." Yelled Nazgrim. The cheering stopped as though someone had stolen their voices. He was right. We had nothing left to cut down the gates with.

"You will not take Orgrimmar today"

"Anu'dora!" Lunaea gasped as she heard the voice of her priestess. She had spent alot of time in the Temple of Elune after her parents had died. She and her brother had been raised by the priests afterall. She would recognize that voice anywhere.

Loud thuds and the screech of metal grinding against metal sounded as countless glaives were pitched at the gates. Nightsabers mounted by Night Elf Sentinals lept easily over the defensive lines laid out, as the gates groaned and opened. The sheer force of the impacts having broken the hinges.

"What?!" Yelled Nazgrim in shock. "Kor'kron! To the gates, now!" Turning, the general ran further into the city beyond their sight, as Tyrande and the night elves assaulted the Orcs streaming from the opened gate.

"At them my sisters! For Kalimdor!" She shouted as she too assaulted the Orcs, spells of holy fire streaming from her lips. She was quite the terrible, beautiful, force to be seen. Seeminly stunned by the sudden turn of events, Vol'jin and Baine blinked heavily at the opened gates.

"Tyrande..." He mummbled.

"Don't think we're here to save you, troll. We're here for Kalimdor!" She exclaimed as her saber swiped at an oncoming Orc. "Get forces inside the gate while we distract the enemy!"

Nodding the affirmative, the troll leader turned and began to motion his forces inside, what was left of them.

Lunaea, having picked herself up off the ground, suddenly felt a sharp sensation in her side that caused her knees to buckle and almost send her right back to the dirt. Gasping and pressing her hand against it, she looked at her gloves and saw blood. Stumbling over to some abandoned Kor'kron crates, she sat and took her gloves off. Gently poking at her right side she felt something sharp jutting out of her skin. It must have been shrapnel from the bomb. Fingering around she found it to be about 6 inches long, and that she must be in shock if it didn't hurt that badly.

Taking a deep breath, she watched both horde and alliance forces stream into the gate as night elves fought with the Kor'kron. The wounded were carried outside of the defensive line and laid out on cots. The dead were put on the backs of wagons and taken to the docks. Soon she was alone. As she'd mentioned before, she hadn't exactly been accepted with open arms.

Deciding she'd waited long enough, she took a deep shuddering breath. Her shock was wearing off rapidly now, and it was begining to hurt. Reaching both arms around to grasp the sharp metal, she tugged. A short scream echoed against the city wall as she worked on it. It had barely moved.

"Must be lodged against a bone..." she mumbled to herself. Sweat beaded on her brow as she slowed worked at it, admitedly not making much progress. It wasn't until her hands began to shake that she stopped. Shakey hands could cause more damage than the initial wound.

Muttering curses in elvish, Lunaea snatched up her staff and began using it as a crutch. Sneaking her way past the ebbing battle with the Night Elves, she limped through the gates and into the city proper. It had obviously been cleared by the raiding forces. Corpses lined the streets. Every street. Blood was dripping from every possible place. The city had been fortified with Garroshs' assention to Warcheif, and everything was battle ready. Even the shops and houses had been lined with spikes to prevent aerial attacks. Numerous gryphons and wyverns were impaled on them, shot from the sky.

Stumbling over some broken crates, Luna fell to her knees with a hiss. She wasn't quite the physical force she had been years ago. Without her ability to shift, she had lost some of her muscle definition. She was softer. So she couldn't quite take the amount of pain she had formerly been used to.

Growling to herself she reached for her staff once again, but it was slightly out of reach. Stretching proved to be a bad idea as the metal in her side cut even deeper, causing her to clutch at her side as she cried out. She watched as blood dripped through her fingers and onto the dirt, turning it an ominous black color.

Darnassian curses flowed through her lips as she put pressure on her wound in a vain attempt to stem the bleeding. Sweat beaded on her brow as she sat there, growing more and more tired at the loss of blood but unable to muster the strength to move. That is, until she heard a faint cry off to her left side. She snapped to attention trying to find the source. Was someone injured?

Hearing it again drew her gaze upwards, to the wooden post she had overlooked. A troll woman was tied to it, arrows all around her and through her stomach and shoulder. They had used her for target practice! Breathing in a shuddering breath, Luna leapt to her feet, ignored her screaming side, and rushed over to the woman. Tears were in her eyes as she examined her. She had been shot hours before, possibly during the newest hours of the siege. Scrammbling in her boot, Luna pulled out a small knife, not much use in a battle, but enough to cut some ropes.

Doing her best to steady her hands, she sliced at the ropes with a desperate air. The woman fell as the ropes loosened, hitting the ground with a groan, Luna did her best to sit her up and lean her against the post. Gasping with the effort, she sat next to the woman as her breath left her. Her side felt warmer than ever, and the previous throbbing had evolved into a constant pain. Moving to her knees, Luna noticed the position of the arrows. There was one in each shoulder, not near any vital points. The one in her stomach however, was a much more gruesome wound. If it had peirced any of the organs inside, she would die reguardless of what she did.

The womans eyes met hers. A dark dark red reminiscent of rubies. Her hair had been a lovely shade of blue and tied into an elegant plait. But now it was dirty and half of it had been hacked off with rough blades. They had wanted to humiliate her as well as kill her. Lunaeas eyes grew hard as she reached for the arrow in her left shoulder. It had went clean through the meat. Reaching behind her, she broke off the arrow head at the shaft before yanking it out quickly. The woman screamed and tried to lurch forward but Luna held her still. Reaching for the other side before the woman could stop her, she noticed the arrow hadnt went cleanly through, but had stopped at her shoulder bone. She wouldnt be able to push it through. It would have to be cut out.

Looking right in the womans eyes, she said, "You will have to hold very still." As she flashed her knife. The trolls eyes grew wide as she saw the knife, not understanding her. Sighing, the night elf motioned to her shoulder and tapped the knife against the shaft of the arrow, only causing the troll to jump as it rang against the wood. Narrowing her eyes, Lunaea concentrated as roots suddenly sprang up around the troll woman and lashed her to the post once again. Her scream was silenced as Luna flashed the knife before her eyes. It wasn't her intention to scare her more, but she would do what she had to.

Motioning the vines from around the wounds, she took a deep breath before she began cutting. She drew a line upwards and downwards from where the arrow had peirced her. Though it was a relatively small cut, the woman still screamed, beleiving she was being tortured again, before the arrow was suddenly removed from her shoulder, and swirling green tendrils worked their way into the cut.

Lunaea was left gasping as she felt her mana drain. She was already weak, but this latest expenditure left her eyes blurry for a moment. Shaking her head and rubbing her eyes, she now looked to the wound in the trolls abdomen. All this effort would be wasted if her stomach had been pierced.

Sighing deeply, Luna made sure the roots were good and tight before leaning towards the last arrow, before the woman screamed louder than ever before. Snapping her head up to see what the fuss was about, Lunaea was met with a plated gauntlet to her face. Her teeth clicked together as she rolled to the side to avoid another blow. Adrenaline pumped fast as she rolled to her feet and saw a battered orc before her. His eyes were wide and bloodshot as he roared at her, bareing his long teeth at her. For a moment she thought he was protecting the troll woman. She saw his Kor'kron tabard a moment before he lunged at the tied troll, and began kicking and punching at her with reckless brutality. She screamed as he kicked at her face and abdomen, before reaching for the arrow in her stomach. He ripped it out and began to stab her with it repeatedly, her screams dulling into heart breaking sobs.

Lunaea screamed as she charged at him, her tiny knife in her hands. The orc ignored her until she tackled him to the ground. Her knife flashed as she stabbed it down but he deflected it with his gauntlet, and elbowed her in the nose. She saw stars for a moment before he threw her off. Again she rolled to get some distance, but he was upon her. The arrow whistled as he brought it down onto the top of her right shoulder. Luna screamed into the orcs face before biting him. She latched onto his nose and bit down until she tasted blood. He roared his agony and punched her in the stomach, it felt like a battering ram and tears began to leak from her eyes.

A steel fist to her temple had her on hands and knees trying not to vomit out everything in her gut. Her vision was blurry as the orc walked over to the troll woman. The roots previously holding her still had retreated, lost with Lunas concentration. She could only watch as the orc picked the woman up by her shoulders. She looked so small in his hands as he roared at her, before he slammed her to the ground and stomped on her. Time slowed to a grinding halt as the womans head lolled. Her eyes, so much like rubies, met Lunaeas as the light left them. A moment that only Lunaea could have with her.

Hot tears burned the night elfs eyes. Rage flowed through her, giving her a renewed vigor and determination. Standing, she gazed at the orc, standing above that broken body, and ran at him. She had him pinned against the same post the troll was on, her hands around his throat. She screamed angrily in his face, her nails digging into his skin as he gasped for air. Tears streamed down her face, hot and angry, as she squeezed her nails into his throat, but her adrenaline was subsiding and her grip was growing weaker, the orcs hands on her arm began to pull her away. Screaming again, Luna felt a sensation like flowing water cover her hand, and claws were suddenly deep in the orcs throat.

He gurgled, gasping for breath as blood ran down his throat and into his lungs. Grabbing an arrow from the post with her free hand, Luna stabbed him through his shoulder and pushed until she felt it bite into the wood. Doing the same with the other shoulder, she grabbed a handful of meat with her newly clawed hand and yanked it out. The orcs eyes were wide as she threw the bloody pile to the ground and shook the blood from her 'hand'. He gurgled for a few more moments as Luna ran to the troll woman. Placing her hand on the womans cheek, she began to cry again as she saw her eyes again. She was gone.

Closing the womans eyes gently, she noticed her hand was a normal night elf hand again, but the long claws and pearlescent fur was burned into her mind. Sniffling, Luna lifted her head and looked around. She was in a dead city. No one was around except corpses. She was covered in blood, only a small portion hers, and alone. The woman she had tried to save was dead, her killer was dead. She felt numb again, like she had when she had returned to a different world. Everything she had ever had was gone. Even her gear. The only thing she had managed to salvage was some old gear from her first year on Northrend, she had stored it in a goblin bank in Stranglethorn. Goblins, being notorious for their greed, had kept it. It had taken a few threats and a more than a few bribes, but when it was finally returned to her, she had been able to transfer her newer powers into it. But now, the gear she had been awarded from the green dragonflight was bloody, and cut open, and covered in mud as she sat on her knees in the bloody streets of Orgrimaar, crying as she held the hand of a corpse.

And that was how Vol'jin and Tyrande found her.

TTT I hear ya frozenpally, I took a loooong time writing this. My muse has not been kind lately. I've had this written about 4 times but each time I didn't want it to go that way and deleted it. But I think I've got it now! Oh and the set she has now is the Valorous Dreamwalker Set, my current transmog and favorite set!


	3. A Flutter

~**Hmmm what fun shall we have today?~ **

Scroll 3

What makes a good person? The measure of their sincerity? Their willingness to do anything for those they love? Or for everyone...

TTT

Darkness swirled around her, stars flickered in and out of exsitance as she floated in a peaceful silence. That is, until harsh whispers pierced the veil of dreamland, sending her crashing back to cold, painful reality.

"She a' least deserves ta be healed! Send ah priest in ta mend her wounds!" He hissed, for it was obviously a mans voice.

"She is an exile and no concern of mine." A cold, calculating woman it seemed. "She is no longer a Night Elf to me or my people, and healing her would be a waste of a valueable healers time."

Tension filled the silence like heat, thick and choking. Someone sighed as shuffling ensued. The wisp of a tent flap and bare feet slapping against packed dirt, followed by a mumble next to where she lay. Slowing her breath, she made an attempt at feigning sleep. It wasn't that hard, truth be told. She was exausted and felt that if she tried to move she would find her limbs as heavy as lead.

"Exiled huh?" He murmured, "I don' tink you a traitor. I saw ya' honor today. I saw ya'..."

A blanket was pulled up to her chin, thin and scratchy, but it was a blanket. Something between her and the cool night air.

"We be takin' care ah ya'."

TTT

"Hold still ya blasted elf!" Hissed Zen'Tabra, "Ya makin it worse!"

Lunaea groaned through the stick between her teeth as the troll druid worked at the shrapnel in her side. It was long, about 6 inches, but had only pierced about 2 inches in. From the front of her hip bone it wound its way to right above her right butt cheek before stopping. She was laying naked from her hips up on a wooden table in Zen'tabras hut on the Echo Isles, where she had been carted with the wounded trolls. Apparently she had cried out in her sleep, plagued by fever dreams. She didn't remember them, but a few of the trolls that had shared her cart giggled when they saw her now.

A sudden tug at her hip had her biting into the stick again, curses streaming from her lips.

"Ah' quit cha' moanin'. It ain't tat deep." Smiled Zen'Tabra as she cut around the back half. Spitting the stick out, Luna turned to glare at the troll before saying,

"Its not the wound, its that you have decided to make it bigger! OUCH!" Zen'tabra giggled as she yanked at the metal again.

"It ain't gonna kill ya. Ya fever broke quickly, so ya should be grateful. Vol'jin took a risk bringin ya here. Exiled or not, the trolls on de' Isles be seein ya as a enemy." Another tug.

"At least fo' a while." Another yelp. "Ah almost got it." She said as she worked the metal from her flesh. Lunaea was right of her quick assesment on the battlefield, it had been lodged in a rib, likely saving her life.

Lunaea cried out suddenly as the metal was removed, sighing in relief. She took a deep breath and smiled when she couldn't feel it pressing against her.

"There we go." She smiled, "There be a few tiny pieces left behind I gotta get out first, then we stitch ya up."

"Thank you." She smiled as she went to work.

"Ah don't be thankin me. I'd have left ya ta die. Vol'jin found ya, said you behaved honorably and deserved a kindness."

"I need to find a way to thank him then." She spoke softly, adjusting her arm under her head so she could relax. Her neck was getting cramped from laying on her side for hours. Now that the shrapnel was out she could breath easier, literally. The hut was filled with companionable silence, the occasional sound of metal tinkling against the wooden table as the shards were removed, until the tinking stopped.

"Can ah' ask ya' sometin..." The Night elf just nodded at her. "Where ya' be gettin' that fetish?" Reflexively, Luna grasped the trinket, finding it where it always was, she tried to decide what to tell her.

"A Troll gave it to me. I can't remember exactly when, I was asleep. But when I finally woke up again I found it, and knew it was mine." The memories were replaying in her mind again, vivid and sombering. She knew she had done nothing but confuse the troll woman, but how did someone explain that they had died, and met a celestial being who then brought her back. They would have doubted her sanity, and she didn't want to give them any more reasons to distrust her.

The silence stretched on a moment longer when it became aparent that Lunaea would divulge no more. With a sigh and a stretch, Zen'Tabra stood,

"Ah' done all I can, I be sending someone in ta stitch ya up." She said as she turned to leave, before pausing at the bead covered doorway, "Be nice."

Lunaea chuckled lightly as the beaded curtain slid closed, glass beads clicking against each other. She had met Zen'Tabra during the escalation of the Seige. She had been sneaking around gathering inteligence for Si:7 when she came across a troll druid trapped in a cage and decided to set her free. She had gained an ally that day. Who knew it would lead her here.

Smiling inwardly, Luna crossed her arms and laid her head down, breathing deep of the salty ocean air. Closing her eyes she slowed her breathing and listened. The trolls hung decortative strands of beads and carved bone outside of their huts, to ward off evil presences. On a windy day they sounded like music, tinking and clicking together in time with the hushed roar of the ocean. Who knew she would find such peaceful solace in the land of her former enemies. The opposing faction. Who knew...

TTT

The moon hung large and bright over the village, bathing everything in pale light, creating a beautiful alien place. Few were found outside at this late hour of the night. A few sat outside puffing on pipes, a few sat on the beach and fished, but one in particular was returning home from a long journey, his wanderlust sated. Pausing at the edge of the water, he turned to coax his raptor off the boat they'd used to cross to the isles from Sen'Jin village. The Echo Isles, recently reclaimed, were a cluster of six small to medium islands conected by bridges with the seventh and largest in the center. The outer edges of the central island were reinforced by spiked walls to ward off an potential invaders.

Tugging lightly on the reigns of his raptor, the tall troll walked towards a troll man hunched over a boiling pot on the beach. As he grew closer, he spotted the balding crown of long white hair and smiled.

"Aye Jin'thala. It's been a long time mon" His voice caused the older trolls head to snap up at him in shock. His eyes wide as he took in the troll and his wellworn clothing. It took a moment of squinting by firelight before realization dawned on him.

"Sen'jin?!" The older man croaked suddenly as he stood. He took a step towards him, arms outstretched in a welcome-home hug, before holding him at arms length to appraise him. He took in the scuffed chain mail gear and holes in the pack he had slung over his shoulder. He saw the scars he made no attempt to hide, and the missing tip of his left tusk. He saw the patch over his right eye, and the long pale scar jutting from underneath it. He saw the tired look in his eye, the way he held himself.

"Aye Sen'jin. It's been a long time." Motioning him along the beach up onto the isle proper, the old troll led his former student into the center of the island. Leaving his chittering raptor in the raptor pens to feed and sleep, he led him to the far corner of the island, the Hold.

"Ya'know ya uncles been worried about cha'. He be sendin hawks out ta find ya lately." Jin'thala spoke idly. "Aftah what happened three years ago, he was afraid he'd lost ya."

"I'm fine." he snipped. "Besides, more important things be goin on. Especially now dat Garrosh lost tha mantle of Warcheif. They decide on a new one yet?"

"Aye. I be lettin ya uncle fill ya in on the details tho. Too long a story for this old troll." He chuckled. "We be havin a little excitement round here as well. I guess they brought a Night elf back from tha war front. I guess they said she was too honorable for her own kind, so they be takin care ah her." He spit out a derisive laugh. "A night elfs a night elf if ya ask me. No mattah the honor they carry with em. Eh?" Moving to nudge the younger troll he found himself walking alone. Turning quickly around he saw Sen'jin standing in place a few feet back, his eye narrowed and his fists clenched.

"Now don't be doin nothin rash boy." Jin'Thala pointed at him, the role of elder settling in, "She under direct protection. Anyone who harms her will be punished for all to see."

Blinking slowly, Sen'jins shoulders relaxed and his hands unclenched at his sides.

"Why would I care about an elfie. She prolly just bribed a General fo safe haven. She might be a criminal." He continued on with the elder troll, ignoreing the worried look he gave him. They continued on in peacful silence, the warm night air peirced only by the occasional shriek of a raptor from the pens. Entering the Hold compound, Jin'Thala nodded idly at the guards standing around, they were all familiar with the old man, and led Sen'jin to the largest hut in the center.

"Ya Uncle be in there." Sen'jin moved to head inside, muttering a thanks to the elder, before a hand clamped firmly on his shoulder. His eye narrowed a moment before resting gently on the old man.

"Don't be doing nothin rash boy. The war is over for now." Before releasing him and heading back the way they came. Taking a deep breath of the night air, he held it for a moment before releasing it and heading up the steps and into the firelit insides.

Blinking his eyes, he adjusted to the firelight to see a tall troll with flaming hair, not unlike his own, hunched before a large brazier, peering into the flames. He was alone in the large room except for a sentry totem in the corner. He sensed it was aware of him and knew it would simultaniously attack him and warn the guards outside if he raised a hand against the man in front of him. His own sentry totems weren't near as powerful as the one in this room, and he loathed the idea.

Glancing around he saw the walls decorated with painted masks and a shield with feathers and spikes. The far side near the brazier was an open wall gazing out at the sea. He could hear the crashing waves below them. The man seemed to be enthralled by the flames, but he knew he was peering into something that wasnt there. Perhaps consulting the loa.

Steeling himself against he knew not what, he spoke.

"Uncle." The mans shoulders tensed suddenly, his back straighted as he pulled away from the fire. Turning, Vol'jin's red eyes gazed across the room at the worn shaman. Wordlessly, the Troll leader slinked over to his nephew and embraced him tightly, before holding him at arms length much like Jin'Thala did.

"I missed ya." He said simply, before motioning him towards the winding steps leading up to a small, round, open room. "Ya look tired." He said as he sat, leaning his back against the railing, motioning for Sen'jin to do the same. He sat and simply nodded at his Uncle, he'd never quite known how to speak to him. As family? As his leader? Carrying the name of the father of Vol'jin had never been easy, and he often cursed his father for giving it to him.

Vol'jin sensed his nephew was uncomfortable, so he sat and watched the tide roll in, deciding what to tell him. He had been alone in the wilderness for so long, he feared Sen'jin didn't know how to speak to other people anymore. Opening his mouth to say something, he was stopped before he even began.

"I heard what happened in Orgrimaar." Said Sen'jin in an attempt to break the tension. Vol'jin sighed to himself, thanking the loa, before speaking.

"Aye. It was a busy time. Things escalated quickly but it's over now. Garrosh has been dismantled."

"Have they chosen a new warchief yet?" He asked, only mildly curious.

"Aye." He said simply. At his nephews raised eyebrows he grinned.

"Ya lookin at him."

Silence reined once more as each gauged the others reaction, before Sen'jin broke into a grin, and Vol'jin began to chuckle. Soon both were overcome by laughter, the tension finally broken.

The night drew on as they spoke of things they'd never had time to before. Family and friends dominated the conversation, before they bid eachother goodnight, and Vol'jin retired to his room downstairs.

Laying with his head on his pack, Sen'jin smiled at the strange turn of events. He never expected his return to be held in such high spirits. Anger and backlash at his self-banishment, that's what he'd braced himself for. But this light fluttering in his heart was something he'd been totally unprepared for, and something he hadn't felt in a long time.

After the events of Darkshore he'd been numb for so long. His actions were purely mechanical, methodical. Any friends he'd once had began to avoid him and his quiet actions. Surrendering his place in the Earthen Ring, he began to sell his abilities to the highest bidder to get by, resulting in more trouble than he could handle. After a breif bout of slavery in goblin trading rings based in Booty bay, he escaped in spectacular fashion and headed to Pandaria, an as of yet unexplored land. After spending an uncounted amount of time exploreing the forests and mountains, making new aquantainces, for thats all they were, he decided it was time to head home.

Resting his hand on the thin silver chain around his neck, Sen'jin drew the pendant out from under his leather jerkin and removed the delicate peice from the leather pull string bag he kept it safe in. A flower carved and chisled from an opalscent sea shell fell into his palm, the moonlight instantly dancing along the lovingly crafted petals. A breif smile lit his face, before he frowned again and placed the flower back into it's protective leather bag. Tucking it back under his jerkin, he rolled onto his side and pulled his blanket over his head, determined to get some sleep that night.

TTT

The next morning heralded a rude awakening for Lunaea. The dagger pressed to her throat wasn't the breakfast of island fruit and fresh fish she had come to look foward to each morning, nor was the sweaty, angry troll hovering over her. His hair was black and in a twisted plait down his back, his skin the most green she'd ever seen on a troll. She was laying on the floor where they had rolled from her cot in the corner of the room, one of his knees pinned her hand as he sat on her chest. She'd managed to worm her right hand out and pressed it against his chest in an attempt to push him off. His left hand was tangled in her hair, jerking her head back and exposing her throat, while the right hand, you guessed it, pressed the dagger to her flesh. His hands shook as he held her there, his eyes wide as he took in her calm face. Wouldn't do to upset him after all.

She guessed by the way he held the dagger that he was unused to the feel of it, so the chances of him missing a vital cut were in her favor. She was confident she could heal any wound he made before it became fatal. Now all she had to do was wait for him to decide. Was it worth apeasing whoever put him up to it? Could he make that final decision and drag that blade across her neck?

His hands shook violently, cutting her slightly in the process. She saw him suck in a deep breath at the sight of the blood, and took that moment to jam her right palm upwards, and into his nose. She felt the soft cartilage give way as she jerked her other hand out from under his knee, and snatched at the dagger. He had the sense to swing it at her hand, but she caught the blade and gripped it tight. Better to have a cut up hand than a cut up throat. The troll roared at her, suddenly stronger than he was before, he abandoned the dagger to her, and wrapped his arms tightly around her, pinning her arms to her sides as he lifted her into the air and squeezed. She groaned as she felt the fresh stitches in her side pop, a wave of hot blood oozing down her side once more. Roaring her own battle cry, she thrust her head forward and clamped her teeth down on his already broken nose. He screamed as her sharp canines broke skin and bit down harder still. His arms released her and she suddenly dropped, taking a chunk of flesh with her. Spitting out the bloody piece of flesh, she scrambled across the floor for the dagger, but he was there, kicking her away. She rolled to lessen the blow and was on her knees in a moment, but he was there again, the dagger pressed to her throat again, and this time he was not afraid. Sucking a breath in through his teeth, the troll shouted at her in orcish as he raised the dagger for the killing blow.

The beaded curtain of the hut was blown back suddenly as a large ball of fire was thrust though it, and slammed into the trolls chest. He screamed as the flames devoured him quickly, his clothing and hair charred immediately, his flesh blistered in mere moments. He only screamed for a minute before he couldn't anymore. The fire made unnaturally quick work of him as a troll woman with blue hair braided over her shoulders walked calmly into the hut.

"Can you walk?" She asked calmly. Poking at her side and realizing it looked worse than it was, Lunaea nodded at her.

"Good. Come wit me." And she motioned her out of the tent where two guards were unconcious and propped against their pikes. From a distance nothing looked off, and no one had reason to get close to the night elfs hut. Walking side by side, Luna only limping slightly, the troll woman led them towards the centermost hut, if it could be called that. As they grew nearer she shouted at some guards to go clean up the mess, to which they responded immediately and took off at a light jog. Glancing sidelong at the woman, Lunaea wondered who she was to have such control over the guards.

As if reading her thoughts she spoke.

"I am called Vanira. Advisor to Vol'jin." Oh. "And you are the woman that has everyone talking around here." She smiled lightly at the Night elf.

"What are they saying exactly." she asked.

"That Vol'jin has gone mad to let a member of the Alliance into our hold. That you are a war criminal and have bewitched us into hiding you." Oh again.

"And what do you think." Lunaea questioned her. They stopped moving for a moment as the troll woman reguarded her.

"I trust Vol'jin with my life and if he says you are honorable then I will beleive him. I have no cause to beleive otherwise do I?" Turning her eyes away, Lunaea ignored the stares of the passing trolls and examined the dirt at her bare feet.

"I've killed hundreds of trolls." She said. "Thousands of enemies in battle and never felt bad about it. Maybe I felt sorry at first, that they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. And maybe I could tell myself that I was just following orders, but I would be lieing." Pausing to adjust her robe around her opened wound she continued.

"I was proud that I could kill them before they killed me, that I could bring some measure of honor to my family and my race. I could've been the one to kill somone you loved, and we would never know it." Vanira reguarded her curiously, she'd never met such a strange person before.

"I've killed night elves, do you hate me for it? Do you feel anger towards me here and now?"

"No." Luna answered.

"Nor I to you. I'm sure that if you had been the one to kill my brother it would have been a glorious death. One to be proud of, and one he could appreciate as a warrior. My only kin however, was poisoned and left to rot on the side of the road, and I think we both know you could not do that."

Turning suddenly she continued up the stairs and into the large hut without a word. Breathing in a shuddering breath, Lunaea followed, stumbling up the stairs as she tripped over her ripped robe.

The inside was well lit by the morning sun, the open wall facing the sea let the morning sunlight wash the walls like a golden dream. A large brazier with smoldering coals was near the wall, effectively blocking the way for anyone wishing to jump out to the water. She wasn't sure if the positioning was intentional or not. Vanira was standing next to a tall troll with flaming hair that made Lunaeas heart skip a beat, even after all these years. When he turned to face her she saw the white and black face paint that Vol'jin had come to wear constantly. His leather gear was more ceremonial than battle ready, as it was decorated with old runes and fetishes. Spikes on his back made it efficiently impossible for an archer to hit him from behind. Aside from that he wore only a loincloth and a few straps on his thighs for his blades. He reguarded her bloodied state for only a moment before motioning for her to sit.

"Ya must be tired." He said. " Afta that." She plopped down on the cusion he indicated, all decorum abandoning her as her side began to ache increasingly. Sitting across from her, he motioned for Vanira to bring her something to drink, a moment before water was handed to her. She drank greedily before she held her cut hand in front of her face to examine it. His wild slicing had bi-sected her hand between her middle and pointer finger, the gleaming white of bone drawing her gaze. Taking a deep breath, she used her other hand to squeeze the bi-sected pieces together before she coaxed the swirling green tendrils around it. The releif was almost immediate, but she knew it would be weeks before her hand moved properly again. She hadn't the herbs to heal it inside and out. The best she could do was make sure it wouldn't get infected.

Moving to inspect it, she saw a thin pink scar on both sides of her hand, sighing before turning her eyes up to look at Vol'jin, who was watching her with a curious air.

"I nevah did thank ya for this." He said as he motioned to his arm where she had healed it over a week ago. Had it really been a week?

"You don't need to thank me. You've already done so much more for me." She responded, trying her best to stay respectful. He laughed suddenly, throwing her off guard as to what was so funny.

"Now now I haven' been a very good host, lettin somone sneak in an try ta kill ya." He grew serious again. Luna smiled inwardly, this mans emotions were like the wind, shifting at a moments notice.

"Some of my people don't agree wit what old Vol'jin be doin. Especially now dat I'm da warcheif." Her eyes widened at that, no one had been in to speak with her since Zen'Tabra had been to see her when she first arrived. Leaning forward suddenly, her hands spread on the floor, Lunaea bowed before Vol'jin.

"I'm sorry." She said, suddenly afraid that she had offended him somehow. "I wasn't aware." She held that pose, her nose pressed against the smooth wood floor, before a soft hand on her cheek had her raise up.

"I don' need any of dat." He said quietly. "This old troll be the same Vol'jin as ever..." He broke off suddenly as Vanira leant down to whisper to him. His face grew grim as he stood and nodded at her.

"Excuse me. I have somethin that needs takin care of. Vanira will take ya back to ya hut, it should be clean now." His voice was low as he bid her farewell and walked outside where he was joined by the guards before walking off quickly.

Looking to Vanira, she found her face blank, betraying nothing. Standing, she followed a silent Vanira back towards her hut, a guard joining them and keeping a useless watch over the surrounding trolls. Lunaea knew it was more a show of force than anything else. Bidding them farewell at the charred entryway, she glanced back at the hut and wondered what could possibly be so bad that had Vol'jin upset. From the stories she'd heard he was a very patient and level headed leader, and it took a lot to rile him up. Turning to enter her hut, she caught a glimpse of a silhouette at the top of Vol'jins place. Turning back to try and see again, it was gone. Maybe she had imagined it.

The only thing left in her hut to remind her of her earlier ordeal was a small blood stain on the floor, her own most likely.

TTT

He heard the ruckus early in the morning, in fact it was what woke him. He heard a shout and some screaming shortly after, destroying his notion that someone had gotten a little excited in early morning training. Sitting up he glanced around at the buildings and homes below and saw nothing out of place, before a red flash came from the round one on the right. It was the only one with solid walls besides Vol'jins own.

Laying down again he decided he didn't care what it was. Somone had probably just gotten out of control with a fire spell to light the morning hearth. Closing his eyes he debated going back to sleep before loud stamping feet and clinking armor had him fully awake again. Groaning he sat up and cursed his luck. One thing about living alone in the forests, it was quiet in the mornings. The only sounds were birds and the occasional tiger fighting with something. But even tigers were quiet by nature.

Rolling onto his stomach he proped his chin on his pack and watched the guards gather around the round hut and pull a blackened, thing, out. He was too far away to see details, but it looked vaguely humanoid. It wasn't until a large piece broke off in a guards hands and he saw a jutting bone did he know. Looks like someone Had gotten out of control with a fire spell. It didn't bother him that someone had just died, but the idea that he wasn't bothered is what did bother him. He should feel something, other than a vague smugness that it wasn't him. His fluttering heart last night had given him hope that his numbness was fading, but he felt the same as ever. Cold.

The guards made quick work of the remains, carrying them off to who knew where. A few more hung back and brought out a few things, an armful of bloody rags, a dark dagger with a strangely shaped pommel, and a charred floor mat. He watched a few moments longer, waiting to see if anyone else came out, before he saw two people walking towards it. One he recognized even from that distance as Vanira. She'd been his uncles advisor for years and knew it to be her sentry totem downstairs. He had a suspision that she was in love with his uncle. When his eyes moved to the other person however, they narrowed.

She, for the curves were obviously a womans, had hair that glittered strangely like an opal. Brief flashes of pink, green and blue in silvery white hair had him blinking and rubbing his eyes before looking again to afirm his sight. She was wearing a simple green robe, a dark slice on her right side oozed blood that stained her robe dark brown. He noticed the soft lavender color of her skin and the silver rings in her long tapered ears. He stood and watched closely as she turned and spoke to Vanira before turning to let herself into the hut, but as she turned he saw her glance up at him, before turning full on to look at him. He wasn't sure why but he paniced and ducked back down for a moment before peaking back up to find her gone.

Why did his heart flutter rapidly, like a bird stuck in a cage? Was it the simple proximity of a Night elf that made him feel that? No. He'd come across many on his travels and felt nothing but his cold emptiness. His heart had for so long been a hollow chest of ice, a place to store old memories and preserve them. So why now did he come back to life...

TTT

~ Soooooooo close. And yet so far. ~


	4. Heart in an Icebox

**~Thank you so much to those who reviewed! Let's find out what kind of mischief we can get into this time! ~**

Scroll 4

Memories have a way of warping our thoughts on current situations. We often have trouble separating what actually happened with how we felt at the time. If our hearts were broken, the person breaking it was evil and not worthy of happiness. If we missed home, it was often remembered with more fondness than when we were there. But, if we were in love, we remembered just how fast our hearts raced when we saw them, and we ached for that feeling again.

TTT

"I need ya ta do somethin for me." Said Vol'jin over his shoulder as he peered into the brazier.

"I need ya ta watch over our elfie friend." Silence followed causing Vol'jin to turn and check that he wasnt alone. He saw his nephew standing there in a stunned silence, his mouth slightly agape. Shaking his head slightly and blinking he met his uncles gaze and nearly shouted.

"What? Why don't you just have guards follow her around!"

"Some of my guards don' agree wit her bein here." He grumbled. "I need someone I know I can trust. Someone dat I know won' hurt her. I need ya."

Sen'jin grit his teeth together and bit back a harsh retort. How could his uncle do this to him! Taking a deep breath he relaxed his hands he hadn't realized were clenched and nodded before mumbling an excuse and leaving the hut. Once out of the hut he marched across the western most bridge towards Blood Talon shore where they raised and trained new raptors. The chirrups of the little ones reminded him of a better time, long before he went looking for adventures. Lifting his hand to the patch over his right eye, he remembered back to his younger days, leaving the Isles in search of glory and riches, only to come back weary and penniless. Mumbling to himself he kicked at the sand as he made his way to the furthest edge of the island. Glancing around he saw the broken tree that he used to sit at with Kamachi when he was but a babe. Smiling lightly to himself he moved to sit on it, before he saw somone was already there.

Opalscent hair glared at him in the midday sun. Unessesarily long ears poked over the edge of the log as she sat behind it, the very cause of his foul mood. His heart began to flutter in his chest as he realized his proximity to the night elf woman. Unbidden, memories flowed through him, paralyzing him in place as light flooded his chest, before a creeping cold took over. Angry numbness filled him as he watched her flip her hair over her shoulder, and he saw something beaded in her hair. Gumbling to himself, he took a step forward. It looked... familiar. But before he could get a good look, her head snapped around to look at him. He barely caught a glimpse of shining eyes before he turned and briskly walked back towards the compound.

Glancing up at the sky he found himself mummbling.

"Cruel be da Loa, to do dis to meh."

TTT

She barely heard the hushed swishing of the sand behind her. Fearing it was another assassin come to make an attempt at her life, she snapped around, a spell on her lips, ready to attack. She saw a patch over their right eye and the missing tip of their left tusk, before he whipped around and stalked away. Standing quickly, she held her injured hand against her chest as she watched him speed away.

Her breath hitched in her throat as she watched him slink away, his long muscled limbs moving in a smooth loping motion. Like the gentle sea rolling over the beach. His hair was a firey red and styled in a sloppy mohawk, as thought he couldnt be bothered to fix it. His clothing seemed unkempt and well worn. A traveler perhaps.

"I wonder what he wanted." She mummbled to herself. He obviously hadnt wanted to kill her or they'd be fighting right now. She was relatively alone, the raptor trainers were on the other side of the isle. Trees blocked their vision, and the roar of the ocean would drown any sounds they made. It would've been the perfect place. So who was he...

Shrugging it off, Lunaea decided to head back to her hut. She was hungry, having not eaten yet today. After leaving Vol'jins hut the day before, she felt stir crazy and hadnt stopped wandering since. She hadnt slept or eaten, only stopping to draw from a water skin she had been carrying, long since empty.

Crossing the bridge, she made her way to her hut, ignoreing the stares and glares of some of the locals. Most of them still didnt like her there. They felt as though she was tresspassing on their ancestral home, defiling it. Pushing past her new thick leather curtain, she found a folded note atop of a pile of fresh clothing. It was from Vanira, requesting her presence that evening in the center of the isle for a celebration in honor of Vol'jin. Sighing to herself, Luna tossed the letter aside and lifted the clothing to inspect it. It was two peices. Or, one and a half. The top was nothing more than a leather bib decorated with beads and feathers of every color, she doubted it would cover her entire chest. The bottom was a floor length kilt cut from soft leather. Thick dark magenta stitchings were along the sides that showed glimpses of her skin, with subtle decorative stitching throughout it.

Sighing to herself, Lunaea ate a meager lunch, before laying down for a nap, her exhaustion finally catching up to her.

TTT

_ Her dreams were filled with the sounds of a crackling fire, and the far off chirrups of crickets. Opening her eyes she saw that she was at a familiar oasis. She was laying on cured furs in the sand, warm and comfortable, and oh so familiar. Looking to her side she saw the silhouette of a man sleeping. But he wasn't a regular man, he was taller, more muscled with light blue skin. Scooting closer to him, she reached to touch his hair. It was flaming red and always made her think of embers. As soon as she touched his hair, she was overcome with feeling, a feeling that left her laying her back with her eyes closed as she waited for it to pass. She couldn't decide if it was good or bad. It was almost like heartache. The pleasent feeling of wanting someone, but the painful ache of them not being there._

_ Opening her eyes again, she found herself inches from crimson red ones. The cool sharpness of tusks brushed her cheek a moment before his lips found hers. Slow and passionate his lips moved against hers, his tongue exploring her mouth. She felt his hand exploring as she put her arms around his neck to bring him closer. She felt his hand slide up her shirt to massage her breast, tweaking her nipple in the process. She moaned in his mouth and she felt him grin against her lips. _

_ She pulled away to ask him what was so funny, when she suddenly felt him tear her shirt in two. He didnt give her the chance to yell, as his mouth went right to her breast, suckling and nibbling, causing her breath to hitch in her throat. She was breathing heavily by the time his hand made its way between her legs, his thick digits teasing her. She tanlged her fingers in his hair as he played with her, unable to form coherent thoughts. _

_ Suddenly, a dark cloud formed overhead, blocking the view of the stars. The crickets stopped chirruping, and the night was deadly silent. The man with the flaming hair continued his ministrations, but when Luna moved to stop him, she felt an incredible pain in her abdomen. Looking down she found a greivous wound. Her stomach looked like so much meat. Her intestines threatened to burst between her skin as blood seeped to the ground. Opening her mouth to scream, she found that her voice was gone, and someone was crying over her. The man was gone, and in his place was a dark figure crying over her. His face was covered in shadow as he sobbed for her, but his hair stood like a beacon in the suddenly dark night. She screamed silently as the flames devoured her vision._

"Wake up ya blasted elf!" A voice peirced through her nightmare, mercifully waking her. Sitting up with a gasp, she looked around with wide eyes until she saw Zen'tabra at the entrance to her hut. She could see the colored sky of sunset through the gap in the curtain.

"Tha musta been one helluva dream." She commented, letting herself in and sitting next to the elf. "You wanna -"

"No." interupted Lunaea. "It was nothing." She breathed, her breath not quite caught yet. The troll woman eyed her for a moment before deciding not to pry, but she knew a broken heart when she saw one. The night elfs eyes practically bled of it.

"Fine." She sighed. "But its time ta get dressed. Vol'jin asked for ya specifically. He wants you in his sight tonight. Too many people be gettin drunk and he wants ta watch ya carefully." Groaning slightly, Lunaea stood and snatched at the clothes Zen'tabra was holding for her. Gripping her robe to pull it off, she paused and glanced at the troll woman, who made no move to turn away or leave. Sighing to herself, she yanked the raggy robe over her head and tossed it on her cot before pulling on the new clothes. The kilt was luckily the perfect length and gave her plenty of room to walk without tripping. The top, however, was a little lacking, and barely managed to cover her breasts. She would have to be careful to make sure she didnt flash anyone.

"Sit" Said Zen'tabra curtly, "If you gonna be Vol'jins guest, you need ta look tha part." She practically pushed Lunaea onto the polished stump that served as her chair and wove her fingers through her hair. It felt nice, Luna thought, as it reminded her of when she was very little. She used to sit at her mothers feet and she would brush and braid her hair for hours. She smiled briefly at the memory, before the troll woman tugged roughly at her hair, causing her to yip at the pain.

"Sorry" She giggled. "Your hair is much smoother than my own, it wants to slide out of my fingers like sand."

"Don't you have any children?" Barked Lunaea, angry at the woman for ruining her memory. She felt a pause in the womans deft movements, before she continued, albeit slower.

"No. Ive never had the honor." She said quietly. Oh. Oops. Lunaea scolded herself for being so rude.

"Im sorry." She spoke softly. "I was... just remembering my mother. She used to play with my hair like this. She died when I was very young." She left out how she died, unwilling to make the woman more uncomfortable.

"Im sure she was a wonderful woman." She said as she continued to weave her hair. I hope so, thought Lunaea to herself. She only had the rose hued memorys of her mother that every young child had. She had no idea what she had been like as a person. And she never would.

They sat in a mildly comfortable silence until Zen'tabra announced she had finished. Running her hands over her hair, Lunaea found that she had taken the sides and had twisted them into a tight braid that stopped at her ears to let her hair flow smoothly. Standing to thank Zen'tabra, she paused when she felt something hard bump her shoulder. Reaching to grab it she found the troll fetish, tied into her hair as faithfully as always. But now, it was open and unhidden, hanging freely and in plain sight. Lunaea couldnt stop herself from grinning at the thought. She had never been ashamed to wear the fetish, only hiding it when she felt it would put her in danger. The thought that she could wear it freely now, made her feel lighter.

Turning to thank Zen'tabra, she saw the troll stareing off into space, deep in sad thought. Opening her mouth to thank her, she found she couldn't find the words, so instead she did somethng she hadnt done in a long long time. She embraced the woman suddenly. Pulling away she saw the troll stareing at her.

"Thank you." She said. She knew the woman didn't know exactly what she was thanking her for, but she smiled back at her none the less, before motioning her out the door.

TTT

When the edge of the sun began to kiss the sea it was time to go. Sighing for the uptinth time Luna tugged on her beaded top trying to cover more flesh. Running her hand over her stomach, she felt the pattern of scars left to her after her life flight on Darkshore. At least the oval on her chest was covered. Glancing down at herself one more time, she mentally told herself to get it over with, before yanking back her leather curtain and stepping into the dieing light.

The guard outside of her hut was crouched down in mid stretch when she walked by. She fought not to blush at her state of 'dress', a fight she surely would have lost if she had seen the guards face at her passing.

Following the lines of trolls, she gripped her hands together tightly to keep them from shaking. She had never been one for public shows. The idea of dressing in a way you wouldn't normally to impress people you'd never met seemed positively silly to her. Even back in Darnassus in her younger days, the majority of her friends would be gushing about parties and celebrations for weeks on end. She prefered to spend time alone in the forest. She only had a few faint memories of her father insisting she dress properly to attend a ceremony of some sort or another. She had learned to leave especially early on those days to avoid her parents nagging. They would send her brother to find her and she would melt into the shadows when he was near, before sprinting off again.

A faint smile graced her lips as her mind slipped back to those days. Were she in the present she would have noticed the troll in front of her stop walking, before she ran into him. Stumbling backwards, Luna blinked several times before noticing the line of trolls waiting to get onto boats taking them to an island a short ways away. Blinking again, sound returned in the form of angry Zandali being shouted at her. A rather large troll with bright green hair shook his fist at her before huffing and turning his back to her once more.

Clenching her fingers together, Luna entertained the idea of what her claws could do to the pretty skin of his back should her hands decide to shift then and there. She was sure her grinning had unnerved more than a few trolls on the way to the boats.

Reaching the beach, she was met with an old grumpy looking troll, who was motioning and hurrying everyone to get across. He no doubt just wanted this job to be done with. Stepping lightly into the boat, she found herself in the middle with trolls in front very pointedly ignoreing her, and trolls behind her glareing as though they wanted to burn holes through her. Mentally shrugging, she looked down at the clear water as the boat lurched towards the island. It would only be minutes before they unboarded.

Growing closer to the island, her ears twitched as she heard whispering behind her. Feeling the boat touch sand she stood to get out quickly, before a hand touched her shoulder, and she suddenly fell into knee deep water. Her head breifly went under the water before she surfaced and saw 3 younger trolls running into the throngs of people. Growling under her breath, Luna made a move to stand, before a 3 fingered hand entered her vision.

Glancing up, she recognized the troll she had seen that day on Bloodtalon Shore. His head was turned away from her like he didn't want to look at her, but she saw the tip of his left tusk was missing. Gently she slid her hand into his as he lifted her to her feet, before releasing her hand and speed walking away. Her hand was still in the air as he dissapeared from sight.

"Thank you." She murmured to no one. Grabbing her hair, Luna wrung the water out before trying to do the same to her kilt, and readjusting her top. Her braids were ruined, and she grumbled as she tugged them loose, the wavy locks hanging over her shoulders once more. Once again wishing she could've just stayed in her hut, Lunaea began trudging up the beach towards the crowds of people.

The island was quite large but it was obvious it wasn't used for much of anything. Old ruins and pillars dotted the island as far as she could see. The center had natural rise that towered above the rest of the island, with a path worn up the side by hundreds of feet. Fires and braziers were spread all around with roasting meats over the grates and fish speared on sticks. Woven baskets filled with fruit and steamed potatoes littered the ground around the fires. At the top of the rise there was a huge roaring bonfire, obviously placed to be the center of attention. Squinting against the bright fire light, Lunaea could make out four figures at the top of the rise.

Vol'jin was quite noticable with his spiked spaulders and backpiece. Vanira was by his side, dressed in a criss-cross of blue cloth and a leather kilt much like Lunas own. The blue complimented her hair nicely and brought attention to her vibrant eyes, which wouldn't stop glancing at Vol'jin. Across the fire was Zen'tabra, dressed in her traditional druidic leathers. Her hair pulled into a top knot with feathers woven through it, and next to her was the troll man with the eye'patch and the broken tusk, who she saw visibly tense as Zen'tabra waved Luna closer.

TTT

Sen'jin watched the younger trolls push her into the water, and growled to himself at how upset she looked. If only he knew how upset. Before he even realized what he was doing, he was standing in front of her offering a hand up. Looking at her, he saw the suns dieing rays reflecting in her strange hair, made even glossier by the water. As she lifted her eyes to him, he had to look away before their eyes met. He didn't like how he was acting around her. It made him feel almost angry that his heart was beating so quickly.

His breathing, however, all but stopped as she slid her hand into his. He slowly blinked his one good eye to regain his senses before lifting her to her feet. Realizing briefly that he liked the feel of her skin against his, he dropped her hand like it was a hot coal and had to keep himself from sprinting away.

Once well out of her sight, he tucked himself behind an old pillar and leaned his back against it, before grasping at his heart. He let out a deep shaking breath he had been holding since she grabbed his hand, and cursed his traitorous organ.

"Why is this happenin ta me." he groaned to himself.

"Why's what happenin.." Sen'jins head snapped to the side to fine Zen'tabra standing with a hand cocked on her hip. "Boy you be lookin' like ya just ran a league. What's goin' on wit ya?" Mentally calculating what he should say, he opted for the typical brush off.

"Ah, nothin. Jus thought ah saw someone." He said casually as he stood and scratched at his scalp. Zen'tabra, not beleiving a word of it, chose to drop it for now in favor of poking at him later. Plastering a grin on her face, she spoke.

"Ya know, Ya uncles been lookin for ya. He want's ya up top wit him. He has a special guest comin' tonight and he want's ta make a good show of unity."

Sen'jin just nodded, not quite wanting to speak to the feisty druid much longer. She had a way of weasling information out of people that left them feeling open and dirty.

"Im sure ya heard what's been goin on." She made is a statement instead of a question. She knew he knew, so what was she asking.

"O'course I know. Everyone knows." He snipped. She spoke agian quickly.

"Then ya know that ya uncle plans to make it official?" Sen'jin just stared blankly. Zen'tabra grinned. She had him now.

"Oh ya don' know then do ya. I guess I could tell ya..." She drifted off. "But I think I'll jus let ya find out with everyone else." And she cackled loudly as she walked towards the center of the island.

"Well!" She shouted back at him. "C'mon then! Ya uncles waitin'!" He heard her laughs echoing back at him as she left him there.

Grumbling and growling every obscenity he could think of, Sen'jin adjusted his mail gear before stepping back into the waves of people. He heard laughter and singing and general happiness around him. It was warm and calm and a nice breeze was coming in from the open ocean, bringing the smell of salt to the roasting foods and the fire. To anyone who touched him, he felt as warm as the evening. But inside he knew better. His chest was his icebox. His silent preservation. He recognized the happiness in his peoples faces, but he could not empathize. As he made his way up the worn path to stand near his uncle, Sen'jin felt cold. His uncle patted him on the shoulder with a grin that Sen'jin mimic'd, before moving to the fireside to stand next to a grinning Zen'tabra. She reminded him of an imp in that moment. Why was she so happy?

He found out when she suddenly stood straight and began waving her hands about. He followed her gaze and saw the Night Elf woman at the base of the rise. Her hair was wavy now from being wet and wrung out. Her leather kilt seemed to hang a little heavier on her wide hips. Her beaded top, which barely covered her ample chest, stopped just below the curve of her breasts. Her stomach was narrow and even from a distance, he noticed a rough line of scars with no discernable pattern zig-zagging around to her right side, where dark stitches clashed with her pale lavender skin.

Her face was stoic as she ascended the rise, and he couldn't help but notice the way the fire played on her skin, and in her hair. His heart suddenly ached. His heart, which had frozen three years before, lurched and tried to move. Like a limb that had long ago gone numb. When it moved, it ached. The pain blossomed throughout his chest as she got closer. He watched as his uncle reached for her and placed his hand on her shoulder. He smiled at her like he would a friend, before turning her to face the crowds below. He stood to his tallest height, placing both hands on her shoulders.

"Friends" Vol'jin's voice boomed above the noise. Quickly everyone began to quiet, like a blanket being placed over them. The only noise was the cracking of the various fires. Even the ocean seemed to quiet in the wake of his voice. Smiling, Vol'jin continued.

"Ya know why we all here!" he said loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Today we celebrate the 5th year of the reclaimation of our home!" The sudden shouting and screaming almost deafened Sen'jin. Had it really been that long?

"Five years since the defeat of Zalazane on dis very spot!" The crowd whooped and hollared once more, before quieting at Vol'jins lifted hand.

"And now today, we mark another occasion here." At that he gently squeezed the Elfs shoulders. "Dis woman, sacrificed her own blood, and almost gave her life, for one of us." Sen'jin watched her shift uncomfortably at the weight of thousands of eyes on her.

"When Orgrimaar was..." he paused, trying to find his words. "When we raided the city, this woman was badly injured." He lifted her arm to show the coarse black stitches in her side. "She almost died, but not before saving one of our own. Her name was Illa'Thala." As though coreographed, hundreds of eyes widened at once and gazed around at each other in recognition. Illa was the grand daughter of one of their elders. Most of them knew her personally if not by name.

"Illa'Thala was a captive of the Kor'kron. She was tortured and left to die. But not before she was found but dis woman." Vol'jin paused and stepped out from behind her. "Dis woman risked her life to fight off a Kor'kron Orc while wounded to heal Illa, but her wounds were too great and she fell to them." Growing somber, he spoke softly.

"I watched from a distance, unable to help, as this woman cried over a fallen troll." Straightening once more, the troll leader spoke with a passion that filled the hearts of all those who listened. In that moment they would have marched into the heart of Stormwind if he but whispered it.

"Her own kind left her to die, when she would not leave one of ours! So dis old troll has decided..." With this he turned to the elf woman. Her eyes were slightly widened as she tried to hide her shock at the happenings around her.

The silence was pregnant as everyone waited for him to speak.

TTT

Lunaea glanced around at the trolls around her. Every one of them hung on Vol'jins every word. She had no doubt he was a fair and just leader for them to listen so intently to his words, despite the subject...

Feeling almost overwhelmed, Vol'jin turned to her finally and spoke to her personally.

"Dis old troll has decided, to offer you a place among our people."

Her chest clenched as her breath caught in her throat. The air was humming with tense energy as everyone waited for her to respond. A place among the trolls? A home? Turning to face the crowd full on, Lunaea looked, really looked, at the faces around her. The gazes were split evenly in affirmation and disgust. The ones pleased with their leaders decision were smiling up at her, eager to please Vol'jin and accept her. Others seemed angry, and disgusted by the thought of shareing air with an elf. War Veterans most likely, she thought. If only they knew about her reputation, they'd lynch her on the spot.

Turning back to Vol'jin, she saw his eyes gleaming. He truely meant what he said. He wanted her to feel at home here. The corners of her lips tilted up.

"I accept."

**_~ I. Am. So. Sorry. For taking so long. For those of you still hanging around... I salute you. The past year has been hectic and crazy in the best/worst ways. I got married, we moved, our daughter started school. So many thiiiiings. I have been writing variations of this story in notebooks, on napkins, on my arm, every time I had a plot idea! That being said I still appreciate any reviews, questions, comments, ideas. Bring it on! ~_**


	5. Just the Wind

Scroll 5~

More than a week had passed since the celebration and Vol'jin's announcement and Lunaea had hardly had time to breath, much less relax. After she had accepted, the island of Trolls broke out in wild screams and shouting. A handful had spit in her direction and left, others had to be led away, but most seemed happy with their Warchiefs decision, shouting and whooping as drums and flutes suddenly filled the air. The party had lasted 2 days and nights, before things quieted down. Luna spent most of her time upon the raised center of the island, near the calm and collected Vanira, who seemed to keep watch on Vol'jin as he drank and danced with his people. She had a good vantage point as she sipped from a single clay cup throughout the night.

Luna had watched the people, laughed as a few got a bit too drunk, and was entertained by the fights that broke out. Oh how she wished she could have joined those, she could have shown them a thing or two a few years back. She smirked briefly before glancing at her hands and scowling.

She watched as Zen'tabra seemed to make a friend, a tall man with bright blue hair the color of the ocean, she had danced with him before they wound up locked together at the jaw against one of the old pillars for hours. She saw Vanira wade through the crowd to grab Vol'jin by the elbow as he grasped his head and stopped dancing suddenly, fearing he'd made himself sick. And she had watched as shortly after the party began, the troll with the flaming red hair, the one who had helped her up from the water, turned and left as soon as she had accepted. She still hadnt truely seen his face. She saw the strap of an eye patch against his profile when he offered her his hand, and that the left tip of his tusk was missing. She knew enough about troll anatomy that it must've hurt. Their tusks, and those of orcs, were more like teeth, and had nerves running through them. Alot of soldiers she had met in Icecrown assumed they were as Zhevra horns, and felt no pain when removed, not that they cared. A few she had met even collected them from defeated enemies. She wondered if that was what happened to him.

The sun was kissing the horizon on the second evening when Lunaea was tore from her thoughts by a strangled chokeing noise. Snapping her head to her left, she saw Vanira grab ahold of Vol'jin as he fell to his hands and knees. Leaping to her feet she ran to help Vanira and positioned him on his side as Vanira asked him what was wrong. Vol'jin grew pale as he grasped his throat and coughed as though trying to draw breath. Purple veins began sprouting under his skin as a thick dark sludge dripped from between his lips. Scooping some of the thick slime onto her finger, Luna brought it to her nose and smelled it a few times, before her eyes grew wide and she looked at Vanira.

"It's his blood." Wiping her finger in the dirt, Luna scrambled to grab the clay mug Vol'jin had been drinking from before smelling it as well. Taking a few deep breaths, she smelled nothing, just the fruity island ale they had all been drinking. Glancing at Vanira once more, she noted her eyes were wide with too much white showing, like a frightened animal. She had both her hands grasped on Vol'jins arm, and Luna recognized the helpless look on her face. Vanira wasn't a healer, and she had no defence against poison.

By now the celebrating had stopped as people noticed their leader on the ground, turning evermore white and purple. Angry fearful voices penetrated the growing twilight as they demanded to know what happened. A few began pointing at Lunaea and hissing in Zandali, while others began singing a deep mournful song. Some were silent, and watched their leader with eyes like Vanira's. Helpless.

Looking back at Vol'jin she was shocked when she saw his eyes on her. They weren't angry, they weren't sad. They were waiting. He wasn't afraid of death. He was afraid of leaving everyone.

Looking back at Vol'jin's cup, she steeled herself, before the took a drink. A few people nearby saw what she had done and gasped, Vanira herself slapped the cup out of her hands screaming that she was a fool. But Luna just ignored her, she ignored everyone. She closed her eyes, and waited. She needed to feel. She felt the ale in her belly, warm and relaxing. She felt the breeze coming off the open ocean and smelled the salt. And she heard the frightened whispers of the hundreds of trolls nearby. Then she felt cold. It began in her belly, where the warmth had been, but now it had morphed into a frozen slush. She felt it begin to travel back up her throat,spreading out towards her limbs when it reached her chest. She felt her heart stutter at the sudden shock, and her fingers began to turn purple. Glancing at her arms, she saw her veins begin to turn purple, much like Vol'jins, but much more startling on her pale lavender skin.

Turning to Vanira, she opened her mouth to speak, but all that came out was a chokeing noise, and her air was suddenly cut off. Grasping her chest, Luna thought frantically, before she began dragging her nails through the dirt. She felt hands on her shoulders and she smelled Zen'tabra, her scent was that of rich moss and grass, she was the only troll who didn't smell of the sea. Luna ignored her, and drew in the dirt, before slamming her fist down next to her drawing multiple times.

"I don't understand!" Shouted Zen'tabra, "That won't help!" Luna slammed her fist down again before pushing Zen'tabra off of her. The troll nodded, face solumn before turning to the crowds and yelling sharply. Luna felt more than heard everyone scrambling and moving, the vibrations of hundreds of feet at once.

Glancing at her hands once more, she saw that her fingers were a dark, almost black, purple now. Dragging herself over to Vanira, who had tears running down her face, she motioned that they needed to sit Vol'jin up. Vanira had to do most of the lifting, which wasn't easy as Vol'jin was one of the tallest trolls in the village, but once he was up she steadied him with a hand on his back. His face was almost all purple now. His arms dark up to his elbows and his legs to the middle of his thighs. He had passed out two minutes ago, which meant she had two minutes to give him the proper herb before the lack of oxygen began eating his brain. Or at least that's how it was with most Alliance races. She wasn't entirely sure if it was the same with trolls.

The burning in Lunaeas lungs had just begun to become unbearable before Zen'tabra and three other unknown trolls arrived with armfuls of Mageroyal, or Luna assumed from the bright red blooms and black thorny stems. All but snatching them from a womans hands, Luna grabbed the heads of the flowers and began tearing them off, before she jammed the stems into her mouth, thorns and all, and began chewing them. Wincing and hissing as the thorns cut the inside of her cheeks, Luna didn't stop until it was nothing but a thick black pulp. Spitting it into her hand, she jammed another stem into her mouth, mewling slightly, as she tilted Vol'jin's head back and, with Vaniras help, coaxed the chewed stem into his mouth. As Vanira massaged Vol'jins throat to get him to swallow it, Lunaea struggled to chew the stem in her mouth. The taste, already terrible, was tainted even more by the blood from her cut cheeks, and she gagged at the metallic taste.

Hands on her shoulders had Luna sitting up straight once more, having curled in on herself from the numbness growing through her body. She choked down the stem, albeit less smoothly than Vol'jin had, a few thorns still scraped on the way down. Within thirty seconds she could breath agian, a deep rasping breath that caused her chest to hurt and her lungs to ache. She heard a few releived gasps behind her before she turned to look at Vol'jin. He had ingested far more than Luna had, and had been under its effects longer.

Reaching out to him, she placed one hand on his cheek, and one hand on his chest. Concentrating on his abdomen, which was freezing to the touch, she coaxed the natural healing energies she weilded so expertly to her hands. Swirling green tendrils flowed from her skin, down her arms and around Vol'jin's torso. The breeze picked up as she concentrated harder and pressed into him. She heard him groan and took it for a good sign, he could draw breath again. She moved one hand to his heart, felt the sluggish beating as it tried to pump thick sludgey blood. Lifting her hand a few inches above his heart, she gathered a large green ball of pulsing energy between her palm and his skin, before narrowing her eyes and shoving it down, hard. The purple immediately dissipated from the flesh the energies had touched, and she felt his heart began to pump faster. She needed his blood to pump faster for the herb to fully take effect.

Vanira cried out in joy as his chest began to rise and fall with deep strained breaths. The purple began to lighted slowly, very slowly, it would be hours before it was completely gone. Luna smiled.

"He'll live. " Her eyes sparkled at Vanira, Zen'tabra whooped from behind her as she shouted the news to the crowd below. Luna jumped as screaming erupted from behind them as the trolls voiced their happiness, before exhaustion suddenly caught up with her, and she felt the world go silent as a velvety darkness covered her.

She had woken the next day around midday, and immediately noticed she wasnt in her own hut. Old instincts took over and she held perfectly still, cracking her eyes open and glancing around before sighing as she recognized the main room of Vol'jins hut. They had moved her there to watch her closely until she woke up.

The next several days had been a whirlwind of activity as Vol'jin personally thanked her for saving his life and risking her own to do it. Vanira and a surly looking woman had quizzed her on the poison and how she had known what to do. Turns out it was meant to thicken the blood much like viper venom. The thicker blood pumped slower and slower and lowered the body temperature rapidly, which caused the purpleing of extremeities and put added pressure on the lungs causing them to constrict.

After a day or two of sitting around in Vol'jins hut she had been approached by a man with hair the color of marigolds. He had introduced himself as Vel'rin Fang, and he was charged by Vol'jin to give her the tattoos she would need to claim herself as a member of the Darkspear. She had followed him to his home in Sen'jin village and spent the next several days in a painful stupor as he worked. He had a needle on the end of a stick, and another stick with slight weight to it. He had dipped the needle in a pale blue ink, he said it was made from sea shells, and pressed the needle to her skin before giving it a gentle whack several times in different spots.

The pain was tolerable at first, insignificant compared to some of her previous wounds, but any pain can grow after several hours. At first she had watched his hands and their precise movements, before it became too much and she had to close her eyes just to concentrate.

A few days to heal and now here she was, sitting on the beach a short while before sunset, finally feeling well enough to leave her hut. She had been slathering her new markings with boar fat to keep them moist so they didn't scab or scar. Vel'rin had told her that scabbing would leech the ink out and take away from what he had called the most beautiful work he had done. Running her hands along her now healed arms, she looked once more at the additions. A few bold lines swirled up along her upper arms, stopping to carress the lines of her scarred left shoulder, while uncountable thin delicate lines swirled and draped down her arm just past her elbows. The ones on her legs had hurt the most. Begining at the swell of her hips to trail boldly down her thigh, coming to a stop at her knees.

Luna didnt see a discernable pattern and upon mentioning it Vel'rin informed her that every members tattoos were like a reflection of themselves. He said he saw great strength surrounded by a delicate, ever changing, nature. She had nodded, not quite happy, but willing to accept it if it meant a home.

The present found her with her back leaning against a tree, and her toes buried in the sand as she watched the sun dip below the sea, winking as it left, before she too stood and headed back to her own hut. The previous days had left her exhausted, but mending. She growled to herself at how she had become. Soft and easily malleable. She always seemed to be healing from one ordeal or another, although she had put herself willingly into the latest bit of pain.

Sighing, she ran her fingers through her hair, as she had begun to do. The humidity on the isles was stiffling at times, though she was getting used to it. She was lucky her hair was predispositioned to be straight, or she would be having a rough time. Making her way past the guards into the main compound, she nodded at the Trolls standing at attention closeby, before dipping into her hut.

Having eaten before she went to the beach, Lunaea decided to simply go to bed. Now that she was officially a "Troll", she would soon be given duties to attend to. The thought weighed on her mind as she lay on her cot, before she drifted off to sleep.

TTT

_The ocean roared from behind her as she confronted a shadowed figure that had been following her. The wind whipped her hair around her face and neck, blinding her a moment before he was on her, pinning her to the sand. She began to fight back, to shout, to pound at him with her fists, but she felt weak, and the ocean drowned out her shouting. _

_ She opened her mouth to scream at her loudest, but before she could draw breath, his lips crashed into her own. He swallowed her scream with a practiced tongue as he carressed the inside of her mouth. Her attempts at shouting quieted as she suddenly melted into the feeling of him. This shadowed stranger. His large hands pawed at her with an air of desperation, tugging at her clothing and groaning when his fingers found skin. Flames seemed to blossom where his skin met hers, warmth rippling through her from every bit of contact. She moaned into his mouth as his hands moved along her hips and up to her breasts, kneading the soft flesh under her wrappings. _

_ She was suddenly lifted up and sitting in his lap in an all too familiar position. She pulled away from the kiss to try and get a good look at him, only glimpsing crimson hair before a hand on the back of her neck brought her lips back to his, into a much more gentle kiss. She could taste salt as he kissed her slowly, tasting her back. Hands moved up her back, before scratching slowly on their way down. She groaned into his mouth agian as his hands dipped into the back of her leather trousers to grip her bare ass. Lifitng her once more he laid her back on the sand before crawling to lay beside her, tilting her head once more to kiss her. She managed to glimpse pale blue skin before their lips met again._

_ One hand tangled itself in her long hair, keeping her head positioned near his, while the other trailed nails down her stomach before reaching the hem of her trousers once more. Her stomach fluttered in excitement as his fingers pushed their way into her undergarments. She was already wet when his fingers found her spot. Her stomach knotted into a hot ball as he began to press and roll and pet between her legs. She threw her head back as he hit a particularly delicious spot that shot pleasure all the way up her spine to tingle in the back of her head. Adjusting his hand, she felt him begin to push a large digit into her opening, while his thumb continued to carress her folds. Her breath turned to heavy panting as she reveled in the feeling she hadnt felt in a long time. Not since before she had died. _

_ A sweet weight began to pool in her stomach as the man began to nibble on her throat, his grip of her hair tightening as he growled in her ear in Zandali._

_ Her eyes snapped open at the words. She hadn't understood them, but she recognized the tongue rolling language. Slapping the hands away from her she rolled away to stand out of arms reach so he couldnt grab her again. Looking towards the man, she was startled when he was inches from her face. A single crimson eye stared at her, while the other was covered with an eye patch. She gasped as he reached for her again, his flesh searingly hot as it touched hers, and he began to pull her towards him again..._

TTT

Luna woke suddenly, sweaty and hot in other places. She hadn't had a dream that vivid for a while. Glancing around, she realized it was still night as her hut was dark, save for a single half melted candle on her table. Crickets were chirruping loudly outside.

Sighing deeply, she rolled over and had ever intention of just going back to sleep, but the twitching between her legs had other ideas. She flexed her thighs and felt the moisture between them. She couldn' deny she had enjoyed the dream, reminiscent of times before, but the sudden-ness of it had startled her. She had been in the village for almost a month now and nothing had stirred her memory of Jak, until now.

Flexing her thighs again she sighed at the pleasent feeling. Closing her eyes she began to imagine what could happen if she ever found Jak. Her fingers found their way between her legs as her imagination ran wild, forging impossible scenarios that just seemed to spur her on. Rubbing herself in circles, she began to moan wantonly, not careing if any passing guards heard her.

TTT

Sen'jin couldn't sleep, plagued as he was by dreams of his past. Things he wanted to forget and yet clutched to his heart desperately. They were the only warm parts of him left, his memories.

He walked the perimeter of the inner compound, nodding at sleepy guards as he passed, thinking back on the ceremony. Shortly after his Uncle had made his announcement, he had excused himself, unwilling to watch the Night Elf woman any longer. Every time she was near, his heart began to beat in a painful way. His Uncle had asked him to watch her, to protect her. But he couldn't even protect himself from her. He refused to look her in the face, afraid of what her eyes would do to his already cracking heart. Gripping the leather pouch hanging around his neck, he sighed as he came upon the Night Elfs hut. It was near his Uncles, reasonably within a protective distance, an honorable place to be. Grumbling to himself as he realized he had already made a circuit around the inner compound, he noted that he didn't feel any more tired than he had upon leaving his bed.

Turning to make another round about the wall, Sen'jin froze when he heard a noise coming from the womans hut. Walking around the walls, but not dareing to open the leather door/curtain, he stopped when he could hear more clearly. Standing hidden behind her hut and facing the sea, he felt like a pervert when he finally realized what the noises were. She was moaning.

Sen'jin felt his cheeks get warm as he told himself he needed to leave, but his feet wouldn't move. The sound emanating from the hut had him rooted in place, his pants seeming to grow tighter by the second. Swallowing thickly, he closed his eyes and listened to her sultry voice as her breath hitched and sighed. Her voice was deep and throaty, not as gravelly as some Troll women he had met, but smooth as glass. Leaning against her hut slightly, he loosened the ties on his trousers as they became painfully tight. Grabbing at himself, fully erect now, he began to stoke his member lightly.

He moved his hand in time with her moans, imagining himself as the one making her voice hitch in her throat. Pausing to lick his hand, he began to stroke himself feverishly without fear of chafing. Using his other hand to tug and squeeze his sac, he felt his balls tighten as he grew near his climax. The quickening of her moans from inside the hut indicated she was close to finishing as well. He imagined himself pumping into her in a frantic pace as they both neared their end.

Her breath was shakey as she suddenly moaned louder than ever, and he couldn't stop the groan from escaping his lips as he came all over his hands. Warmth flooded his body as he panted in the after effects, his cock twitching in his hands, before he realized that he was in danger of being found. Tucking himself back into his pants quickly, Sen'jin wiped his hands off in the sand, rolling them in it until everything flaked off. He would wash them later. He walked briskly back to his Uncles hut, tip-toeing up the stairs to his room. He all but flopped onto his blankets and the raptor feather pillow he had been given, suddenly exhausted. Rolling onto his side, he glimpsed a pale face peaking out from behind the Night Elfs door, before he closed his eyes to slumber. Grinning slightly.

TTT

Upon her climax, Lunaea had swore she heard a deep groan from outside her hut. She feared one of the guards had heard her and was peaking, and it had almost put a clamp down on her pleasure. Rushing to her table she had rinsed her hands in the water basin near the door and dried them with a rag as she poked her nose through the door curtain, only to find the area barren. Sighing to herself, she tried to convince herself that she had imagined it in her climax induced stupor. But her imagination had never been that good.

Stripping herself of her undergarments, Lunaea decided to chalk it off as the wind for now as she crawled back into bed, finally feeling tired enough to get some decent sleep.

**~ Weeeeeeeelllll. I think things are going to start getting a little bit interesting from here on out. And if anyone has questions about anything confusing in this chapter, just wait and see. ;) ~**


	6. Black and White Dread and Death

_**~I've had a couple pm's questioning why they don't recognize eachother. Its because they haven't seen eachothers faces yet. Sen'jin keeps avoiding looking at her as just her proximity makes his chest hurt. He can't imagine what her eyes would make him feel. He hasn't seen her fetish either. When she fell into the water he braids came out and it was once again covered. Damn I'm stealthy. And yes. I am giggling to myself Ihsan997. ;)~**_

Scroll 6 ~

Luna had been added to the tiny clutch of healers in the village. She'd be expected to heal everything from the common cold to old war wounds. Not that the veterans would ever let her touch them.

Generally the village healers would have the option to be send away from the village to aid in a skirmish or accompany a politician in case of attack, but given her situation they had decided it best for her to stay on the islands. An idea she loathed. She was, for all intents and purposes, trapped again.

She couldn't stop the scowl that adorned her face as she snatched at her leather pack of herbs and headed off to Spitescale Cove. The damned Naga in the area just would not give up the island. They were almost as bullheaded as some orcs she had met. Their Sea Witch goddess had long ago been slain, leaving their forces in dissaray, but it didn't seem to stop them from simply throwing themselves at the troll forces there, hoping to simply bury them in Naga corpses.

Lunaea made her way past the vendor section of the Isle, her mouth watering over the smells of the sweet breads, before she entered the common living quarters. She walked down the center of the street, dodging the spittle of one particular bitter old troll who always spat at her. She had become a master at dodging spit and rotten fruit. She grinned to herself as she thought once more of the things her claws could have done to them. She imagined she looked quite feral when she grinned as she was. All teeth, her elongated canines showing to great advantage. For some reason her canines had thrown the trolls off balance. They hadn't expected something as delicate looking as elves to have anything more than the flat teeth that humans did. She supposed their lessons on other races only included which parts were easiest to stab at.

She chuckled to herself when she remembered her own lessons on the subject of horde races. She hadn't given a damn about their anatomy other than which parts were easiest to reach fatally.

Reaching the long bridge that led to the cove, Lunaea noticed it was oddly empty for that time of day. It was usually bustling with soldiers moving in and out with weapons, supplies for the guards, or even just lunch. But it was barren, eerily so.

Moving quickly, she stepped lightly as she made her way to the cove. Her bare feet didn't make a sound as she pattered across the smooth wood planks. It was only moments before she reached land, and noticed why the bridge was empty. All of the soldiers were on the ground. Quickly crouching down, Lunaea ducked behind a stack of crates as she glanced around looking for any danger. Tilting her nose into the air, she sniffed. Her senses weren't what they used to be, but she did note that there wasnt any blood in the air. Strange.

Sneaking around to the nearest soldier, she rolled him onto his back from his side, and gasped as she beheld him. He was dark purple. From the tip of his nose to the tips of his toes. He was purple and cold and very much dead. Creeping from one soldier to the next, they were all the same. About fifty corpses littered the beachhead, all dead from the same poison that almost claimed Vol'jin. She shuddered at the implications. Someone was after him, and from where she was standing it didn't look like they had any intention of stopping until one of them was dead.

Keeping low, Lunaea began making her way towards the cave on the western edge of the beach. She was near the entrance when one of the trolls she had thought dead began convulsing violently. Flinching at the sudden movement, she had to try and calm her racing heart as she rushed to his side, already pulling mageroyal stems out of her herb pouch. For a moment she had feared she was discovered by an enemy, and the trill of fear shot up her spine like lightning.

Pulling out a rolled ball of cheese cloth, she let the greasy ball of mageroyal and boars fat roll into her palm before squishing in into the quaking trolls mouth. She had messed around with better possible applications of the stem after her near death experience. Crushing the stem into a powder and mixing with a bit of boar fat had turned it almost dough like. Made it taste significantly better too.

She forced the troll to lay still as he paniced. The fear of suffocation was something most living things were born with, and it triggered the fight of flight response so easily. Of course, he really was suffocating in this instance.

Pressing down on his chest hard, she new he'd have a bruise later, if he would swallow the damn stem.

"Eat the stem damn you!" She shouted as he spit the little rolled ball back out. A deep growl trickled out of Lunaeas throat as she grabbed a handful of dark green hair and yanked his head back, forcing his mouth open. She crammed the little ball into his mouth before he could close it, barely getting her fingers away from his teeth before he clamped down again. Angrily, she rubbed his throat forcing him to swallow, grinning wickedly as she felt it go down. Inwardly, she cackled with triumph as outwardly, she began to pump healing magic into his chest. He was even further effected than Vol'jin had been, but she needed him alive. He would know what happened.

Taking a deep breath, Lunaea extended her mind outwards, feeling the plants and all of their connected roots and energies. The entire island was almost one big plant. The roots connected through millions of points and released enough energy to raise an entire graveyard from the dead. Luna smiled and sighed lightly as she began to siphon off some of the immense energy of the island, and push it into the dieing trolls lungs. It wasn't until she felt him take his first deep shuddering breath that she cut off the connection.

Suddenly tired, Luna opened her eyes and noticed a few of the plants around her were dead and brown. She felt sad for them, before she turned her attention to the troll who was struggling to sit up. Placing her arm under his head, she helped him sit up a bit as he breathed greedily of the air.

"Th-" he gulped again. "Thank y-" He was cut off with a strangled gurgle. A small trickle of darkened blood left his mouth to trail down his chin and onto Lunas hand, where it rested not more than an inch from the long blade that had pierced the mans chest. Lunas eyes widened as she watched the light leave his eyes, his blood still warm on her hand. Glancing down in a vague state of shock, she saw a long black blade impaled through the trolls chest, the entry so rough that blood had splattered her leather vest and arms.

A dark chuckle brought her attention to the mouth of the cave, where a tall man stood, clothed all in black. She felt her arms go slack as all her energy was seeped out of her. The man exuded a feeling of dread and death.

He wore long cloth robes all in black, with a black and white wooden mask covered his face, reminiscent of both necromancy and voodoo. He walked with a confident, loping stride as he reach for his elongated dagger, yanking it out of the corpse with little disreguard for blood splatter. Another warm droplet landed on Lunas cheek as he flung the viscous fluid from the dark blade. It almost seemed like pieces of he blade were melting off. The back of her mind though it was kind of eerily beautiful, before the tip of the knife was placed under her chin, lifing her eyes to meet his.

His face being obscured by the mask, all she could see was a dark yellow glow coming from the eye sockets. It seemed a familiar color, though she had trouble recalling where. She had trouble recalling anything at the moment for that matter. What was she even doing here?

"Ahhh" He hummed, his voice deep but winded. "You. You feel different from the rest of the islanders elfling." He turned her head side to side with the point of his dagger. She felt her eyes began to glaze over as she sat on the sand, her arm still supporting the dead troll in the puddle of cooling blood.

"You have a feeling of death around you, as well as a refreshing breeze of life through magic." He ran his bandaged fingers through her hair, before snagging a few strands and yanking them out. Why were his fingers bandaged?

"Mmmmmm" He hummed again. "Yes delicious." He all but moaned as he brought the hairs closer to his mask as though smelling them. Luna couldn't bring herself to feel repulsed by his actions. Her insides felt, frozen. She couldn't even get herself to feel frightened as he raised the dagger under her chin higher, raising her face until she was stareing into the sky. She noted absently that dark rain clouds were rolling in, it was going to storm soon, before her vision was engulfed by the black and white mask and its yellow glowing eyes.

She felt a hand in her hair once more as he began to speak in a language she had never heard. She felt him grasp a handful of her hair as though to hold her still. Why? She questioned, she wasn't going anywhere. She felt his other hand tense as he adjusted the daggers position, pressing the long edge of the blade against the front of her throat. What was-

"Hey!" A voice shouted, before a thundering sound echoed in Lunaeas ears. A screech the likes of which she had never heard came from behind the mask as a bolt of lightning struck him in the side. His hand and dagger were suddenly gone, as thunder suddenly boomed from the sky, and the clouds released their contents. Warm rain fell in a sudden torrent, pelting Luna with large drolets that quickly washed the blood from her vest as though it had never been. A sad testament to the troll laying before her.

Still frozen from the sudden change in events, Luna stared at the clouds as lightning flashed bright blue and pale green, illuminating the clouds with a riot of colors that didnt match her current state of mind. She took a deep shuddering breath as everything crashed around her. She had almost had her throat slit, and she almost let him do it. Who the hell was that! She screamed at herself. What the hell happened?!

Dropping her gaze to the troll on her arm, she laid him gently upon the sand, a deep sadness rolling over her. Her hair fell over her face as she pieced it all together. She had almost wound up just like him, she thought as tears began pooling in her eyes.

Another troll was crouching near the head of the corpse. He had been speaking to her and she hadn't heard a word. Sound rushed back to her suddenly as she blinked at his feet in the sand.

"I said, what da hell jus happened!?" He shouted at her above the pounding rain.

"Ya jus gonna let him slice ya open ta bleed t-" He stopped when she looked up at him, her hair partially obscuring her face. It was the man with the eyepatch and the missing tusk tip. She had spotted him following her several times, like a guard, but never had he looked her in the face. She thought he was another elf hater.

A slight ringing began in the back of her head as she looked at his stunned face. His skin was a nice shade of pale blue, his one eye a bright crimson. His hair was soaked down from the rain, but as bright as flaming embers. Her chest suddenly constricted as her heart realized it before she did.

She gulped as breath suddenly eluded her. He had saved her life. He had been here this whole time. So close.

"Sen'Jak?" She whispered.

TTT

"I said, what da hell jus happened!?" He shouted at her above the pounding rain.

"Ya jus gonna let him slice ya open ta bleed t-" She looked up at him and his world stopped. Her eyes were round and doe like, as deep as the night sky, and twice as bright. Her face was narrow, with high cheek bones and full lips just a slight shade darker than her light lavender skin.

She sat in a cold pool of blood, her arm around a dead troll, with a dead expression on her face, at least, until she registered his own. Her lips parted as she suddenly gulped heavily and breathed in a deep shakey breath.

"Sen'Jak?" She whispered. His chest constricted around his heart as it suddenly tried to beat once more. Its pace was alarming at best. It felt like he was going to leap out of his chest at any moment.

He stood suddenly. His gaze roaming over her glittering white hair and her tearing eyes, before he turned and ran across the bridge at full speed. This was impossible...


	7. Ragged Feathers

_**~Oh damn oh damn oh damn. They saw each other! What the hell is going on! Shes dead! Or was..He's being called Sen'jin?! What the hell!~**_

Scroll 7~

Lunaea was standing outside Vol'jins hut surrounded by guards as Vol'jin and Vanira argued back and forth.

"What d'ya mean there's no body!" He shouted at her, frustrated beyond belief. Fifty soldiers dead, two of which were his close friends. His nephew claimed to have struck the offending party down with a lightning bolt, but there was no corpse to be found.

"I said what ah mean!" She shouted back. "There is no body. Perhaps it wasnt a fatal blow! Perhaps he got away after Sen'jin ran off. Why did he run off anyway!" At that she turned to Luna, who was still in a cold state of mind. Something about that masked trolls presence had effected her greatly. Her near death experience, although not completely new, had shaken her more so then previous attempts. Perhaps it was because she was saved by someone else, she hadn't done the saving this time. Odd.

"He was struck in the side. About here." Luna pointed to her right ribs. "It wasn't a fatal spot, but there was no time to gauge alternatives."

"Any how did he best ya anyway!" Vanira shouted. She really was upset. Her accent got thicker when she was angry. "Aren't ya supposed ta be some great fightah! What tha hell happened?!"

Luna was really getting tired of being asked that. And she was getting really tired of re-telling the scenario.

"I told you three times. I was going out to Spitescale cove to provide healing aid when I saw all of the soldiers laying in the sand. Upon inspection I noticed they were all afflicted by the same poison from before. All but one was dead." Her eyes darkened slightly. It hadn't even been three hours since it happened. She still had dried blood under her finger nails, and truth be told she had other things on her mind. She couldn't stop her mind from wandering as she gripped her fetish in both hands, smoothing her fingers over it as she talked. She saw Vanira glare at her hands.

"When the troll emerged from the cave, I couldn't move, and I couldn't fight. I don't know what he did, but I felt..." She trailed off, trying to find the words.

"I felt like, my will to live was gone. As if I didn't care that he was about to slice my throat open. All I could do was watch the rain clouds." She glanced up at the sky again, seeing the dark clouds still hanging around spitting little drops at them.

"Tha sounds like a dangerous power. " Vol'jin spoke solumnly. "An did'ja see where my nephew ran off ta?" He questioned gently. Unlike Vanira, he seemed to recognize the passive yet flighty look in Lunas eyes, even if she herself didn't know it was there.

Lunaea felt her ears twitch at his mention. She hadn't known the nephew she'd heard mentioned was the man with the eye patch. That Sen'jin was in fact Sen'jak. But why had he told her his name was one thing, and his own family another?

"He uhm-" She wasn't sure what to say. That he'd seen a ghost? "I'm not sure where he went. He wasn't injured, and I saw him run back in this direction across the bridge."

Her chest felt tight as she remembered calling after him, yet still unable to move. Hot tears had burned their way down her cheeks, well hidden by the rain when the guards found her. They had heard her shouting.

"I'm sure he's around somewhere." Vol'jin commented.

"Ah-um." Luna began, pausing when she saw Vol'jin mummble something to Vanira, before turning back to her.

"May I..." She held her hands up to show the caked blood. He looked at them with sad eyes before nodding the affirmative. Bowing lightly, Lunaea turned and headed to her hut, pushing past the curtain moments before she fell to her knees. Whatever fog had been over her was lifting, and all the panic and emotions that had been suppressed were suddenly coming to the surface. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she panted from the adrenaline pumping through her chest. She placed her right hand over her rapidly beating heart as her left supported her on the woven reed mat that served as a floor.

_'Why did he run?!' _She shouted in her mind. _'Why didn't he stay!' _Would he hate her now?! After all she had went through to find him! She had searched high and low. Going back to the grove where she had died, back to the barrens oasis, back to the beach near Booty Bay. Back to Nagrand, where she had last seen him before the Cataclysm. For a while she had feared the worst. That he had died from Deathwings flames while she slumbered. But something had told her he was alive. A feeling she had fluttering in her chest.

She had almost written the feeling off as unwarrented hope, but it persisted during her darkest hours, keeping her hopes alive.

_'Does he think I am as I was before?'_ she wondered. _'Will he beleive it's even me?'_ She watched as tears dripped from her face and beaded on the reed mat. Little crystalline gems of sadness.

She thought back to the look on his face. To his face. To his hair.

_'He's been through so much it seems.'_ She wondered what happened to his eye. How did he lose part of his tusk? How did he get the winding scars that spiraled up his right arm?

_'He seems so despondent.'_ She remembered how immaculate his mohawk used to be, woven with beads and feathers. He had seemed so proud of it, though at the time she couldn't have cared less. Now it seemed, he couldn't either. His mail armor was in disrepair, his face blank and unreadable, his very presence exuded despair.

She wanted to wipe the morose look from his face. She wanted him to feel again, as it seemed he didn't. At the risk of sounding arrogant, she knew he had loved her before, and perhaps it was because of her that he was so melancoly. Perhaps, a part of him had died with her. She felt her chest fill with frost as she gripped the fetish, leaning back onto her knees now that she was calming down. She felt the beads tied to it, no doubt smoother than ever with her constant fingering, and the runes carved along the sides. She had been careful with those. She didn't want it to become illegible.

Grasping at the edge of her heavy table, she hauled herself up to her feet. Bee-lining for the wash basin, Lunaea furiously scrubbed at her hands and forearms, a sudden ferosity overtaking her features.

_'I have to find him. Track him down'_ She thought, _'I have to explain things to him, before I lose him again'_

Wiping her hands viciously on her leather kilt, she overlooked her wavy hair and blood stained clothes, which was regretably noticeable on the green beaded leather, before barreling out of her hut.

A few shocked gazes found her as she burst from behind her door, she ignored them as she began to run. She ran south, across the bridge to Bloodtalon shore. Jak had told her once many years ago that he used to love sitting and listening to the young raptors. He said their chittering was soothing.

Raptor younglings nipped at her ankles as she sprinted by them, earning a few curses from the keepers as a handful broke away from them and ran along side her. Were it another time, she would have grinned and began to weave back and forth to goad them along. But the current situation had her hastening her pase as her lungs began to burn for air. Skidding to a stop at the end of the isle, her hands found her knees as she huffed for breath. No Jak.

_'He knew I would come here'_ She thought as she sighted the log she had sat at, what felt like a millenia ago. Turning back to the bridge, a small pack of young raptors chirruping at her, she dashed back to the main isle, determined to find him.

TTT

Sen'jin sat alone on the unused islet, both hands grasping the leather pouch at his neck. To most onlookers, he would only seem to be sitting in the sand in silence, but a keen eye would notice how shivers periodically ran up his spine, how his arms would flex and relax, how he shook, how he mummbled.

Indeed, an onlooker with a keen eye would see a man in distress, trying his best to handle himself,and failing. But there were no onlookers on the tiny islet just north of the landing isle. No one to hear him as he groaned and mummbled to himself. No one to calm him as his heart raced and refused to slow.

_'Ahm goin mad.'_ He told himself. _'Ahm seein thing's. Projecting maybeh.'_ It couldn't have been her. She was gone. Long gone. Not even a grave to visit.

_'Those blasted ancient tree's took her into the forest. An I couldn't find her.'_ He fell in on himself again, curling into as tight a ball as his long limbs could manage.

Gripping the leather pouch tightly, he felt the familiar edge press against his fingers through the leather, smiling weakly as he held it to his chest. His eyes gazed down at his right forearm, at the long scar curving diagonally across it. He remembered the cove outside of Booty Bay where he had earned that scar, but unlike most of his other scars, he gazed at this one affectionately.

_'It's been years.'_ He pleaded to the Loa. _'Still my heart aches. Still she is there. Like a poison that can't be siphoned.'_ His thoughts turned suddenly angry, before softening again at the memory of that night in the cove. They had been interupted, but he could still see her. Black hair plastered around her neck and down her chest, the look in her eyes as he licked the wound on her palm. He felt himself grow hot moments before his chest constricted. Groaning, he pressed himself tighter into a ball, and fought the scalding tears from rising. He had cried oceans for her already. What more did the Loa want?

TTT

Sweat dripped from her brow as Lunaea reached the western beach, with it's roaring bonfire and the few boats that were run aground. It was dark now, she had been running all day. She saw the old troll with the white balding crown eye her curiously, Jin'thala she beleived was his name. His yellow robes rustled dryly as he stood and patted the sand from his bottom.

"Wha's goin on elfie." He questioned. "Ya look like Bwonsamdi himself be on ya heels."

"I-ahm." She panted for breath, her chest burning from her mad dashing around the isles.

"I'm looking for someone." What would an elder think if an Elf were looking for a member of Vol'jins family?

"Ah!" He exclaimed jovially. "I can help wit dat! I know every troll on these Islands." He nodded and smiled. "An most trolls off." He winked.

"Jus tell old Jin'thala who ya lookin for."

Fighting to catch her breath, Lunaea concidered just telling the old troll who she was searching for, and to hell with any questions. Running a hand through her sweaty, wavy hair, Luna sighed.

"I'm seaching for Sen'ja-" She sputtered. "Sen'jin."

As predicted, the elder blinked slowly at her. He stared at her face a moment, as though trying to glean her intentions from her face, which she purposely kept blank. All was quiet a moment, the snapping of twigs in the fire and the rush of waves were deafingly loud, before the old trolls face cracked into a grin.

"I saw him head out towards one of the empty islets earlier today." He pointed north and slightly west of their position.

"Haven' seen him come back yet, so I spose' he's still there. Dun know which one though." He scratched at his chin.

Adrenaline coursed through her once more as she hastily thanked Jin'thala before dashing off. Running to the western most bridge, she trotted across it, her eyes peeled for any sign of him. Straining her ears to listen, she grew frustrated at the loudness of her bare feet padding against the wood, at her labored breathing. Were she at the same level of fitness she was before, she wouldn't have been having such trouble running around. She would've been able to melt into a panther and track via scent. She growled at what she was reduced to.

Reaching the sand bar, a small island for boats to dock at, she turned a slow circle, looking for any sign. Anything. There were no footprints in the sand. No belongings left laying around. Nothing.

She felt her heart sinking into her gut. Was he gone?

Padding towards the water, she walked ankle deep, and focused on slowing her breathing. Inhaling and exhaling with the roll of waves. She watched, her eyes downcast, dejected, at the water swirling around her feet. Slowly, so slowly, her feet began to sink into the sand. She felt a tear roll down her cheek, just one, and watched as it fell into the ocean, the tiny ripples washed away with the tide.

Her ears perked suddenly, something had echoed across the waves. Narrowing her eyes, she made out a tiny islet a short distance north of her. It was too small to be used for anything. Maybe a few younglings snuck out?

She flinched at the sudden scream. It was a scream filled with agony and frustration. The scream had barely ended before she began to wade into the water, struggling against the waves a moment before they swept her into neck deep water. Struggling to steer herself towards the isle, she felt her exhaustion in her arms as she pushed against the waves.

It didn't take long to reach the isle, the waves began pushing her towards it halfway there. Pushing her hair back from her face, she took a deep breath and let it out before pushing past the large foliage, and suddenly finding herself stareing at his back.

She knew it was him. She knew from the way her heart fluttered when her gaze rested on his skin, skin which she knew to be soft and supple. She saw his disheveled hair, bits and peices lieing on either side, and the ragged feathers and dull beads. She saw his threadbare clothing, he had gone without his armor this night. He was hunched over, into a ball it seemed, and she saw the tremors work their way down his spine. She heard him mummbling to himself, but couldn't make out what he was saying.

"Ya not real." He said suddenly, his deep voice making her jump. "Ya can't be."

Steadying herself, Lunaea walked slowly around him, to meet his good eye. She stopped when she saw the look in his eye. He looked tortured, angry, confused.

"I saw ya die." His voice broke. "I saw dem take ya into the forest, an I nevah saw ya again." She sat down on her knees, just watching him. She desperately wanted to reach out and touch him, but she feared if she did, he would break. Oh how their rolls had reversed.

"I tried to forget ya." His head snapped up and looked at her, his gaze devouring her face.

"I tried to forget what ya eyes looked like. I tried to forget your skin." He raised a hand, as though to touch her arm, before he snagged it back and grasped at whatever he was clutching.

"An now..." He paused. "An now, I'm goin crazy."

She gasped suddenly, opening her mouth to speak. She closed it agian, and thought of something better. Reaching for her hair, she watched his eye snap to her as he watched her carefully. Pulling her hair over her left shoulder, it was much longer than it had been before, she watched his face as his fetish fell over her shoulder.

He stood suddenly, his long legs stretching to their full height, causing Lunaea to fall back onto her butt as she strained to watch him. He took a step towards her and she scrambled to her feet. She was afraid of what he could do to her in this physical state.

He advanced quickly and she back pedaled, dancing around him and his angry gaze as he snatched at the fetish in her hair. Their dance went on as they circled the island, before Lunaea made a mistep in the soft sand, and found her back against a large palm tree, with a large angry troll in front of her.

Her breathing hitched as he grew closer, and his smell pervaded her nose. He smelled like leather and saltwater, and a deep musk underneath that that was purely him. He stopped a hairs breadth from her, his breathing labored and with a wild look in his eye. They each stood still, so close that a heavy thought might bring them together.

She watched as he lifted a large hand, and prayed that he would't use it to strangle her. Her eyes were wide, too wide, as he reached for her neck, and brushed her long hair away from her skin.

He let her long hair slip through his three fingers, until it reached the fetish, tied tightly with a leather strip. He held it in his palm, gently stroking the polished beads and the delicate runes. She watched his face soften, and he tore his intent gaze from the fetish to look at her. Really look at her.

Lifting his other hand, he pressed it against her cheek, and watched in fascination as she sighed against his palm. Trailing his thumb along her cheekbone, he caressed her face until he reached her bottom lip. Gently rubbing his thumb back and forth against her plump lip, before tipping her chin upwards and suddenly burrying his face in her neck.

She gasped as she felt his tusks press against her skin, even the broken one still had a sharp point. His arms moved to the tree on either side of her, pinning her in place as he took deep greedy breaths of her skin. Hesitantly, she raised both hands and placed them against his chest, feeling his firm flesh beneath the ragged garment. She pressed against him gently, determined to prove that she wasn't a figment of his mind.

As his hair fell around her face, she took in a deep shuddering breath, before grabbing a fistful of hair and pulling it to her face. It wasn't as soft as she remembered, but it smelled the same, and it was the same color. Red as fire embers.

When he spoke, his chest rummbled against her.

"I thought.." He broke off with a shuddering breath. "I saw ya die."

Moving her hands to his face, Lunaea gently pulled him from her neck to look at him. Her thumbs carressed his cheeks, roaming over the ends of the scar on his eye, stroking the broken end of his tusk. His eye roamed her face as she roamed his, and his eye watched her mouth as she parted her lips to speak.

"I came back." Before their lips crashed together.


	8. Fire

_***Throws chapter before running away* I'm Sooooorrrrrrrryyy!~**_

Scroll 8~

Lunaea felt his lips press against hers almost deperately, as though he feared she would fade away. His large hands encompassed her back, one squeezing her at the waist, pressing her tightly against him. While the other moved lower to grasp at her bum, gripping her tightly.

His hair flopped around her face as her hands rested against his cheeks, her thumbs caressing his skin as he gripped at her with a desperate air. A desperation so hot as to consume them both.

Flames seemed to erupt from every inch of skin he touched, his large hands massaging her back up and down as though he wanted to touch as much of her skin as he could at once. Wasteing no time, he began to tug at the ties on the back of her robe, pulling them so roughly that a few of the seams popped, exposing more skin than they were meant to. Groaning as he slipped his hands under the leather, both hands immediately went to her round bottom, gripping her tightly before lifting her from the ground and pressing her against the tree with his hips.

Propping her up, he broke the kiss momentarily to tear at the top of her robe, exposing her torso and arms. Her breasts bounced free of their bindings before he gripped at them roughly before captureing her lips again. He swallowed her moan as he tweaked and pinched at her nipples and ground his hips against hers, his swelling member prominant against her front.

His desperation spread to Luna as she began to claw at his chest, determined to release his skin from his leather undergear. Pulling at the shoddy twine holding it together she pulled it over his head before captureing his lips again. Sucking in a deep breath, she nipped at his lower lip, drawing forth a strained groan from deep in his throat. His chest rumbled against her causing her to groan in return.

Running her hands through his hair, she grabbed a handful before pulling it roughly back. He moaned as she brought his head down and sideways so she could reach his neck. Licking and nibbling every bit of skin she could, she suddenly felt an overwhelming desire for flesh. Feeling her hot breath against his neck, she took a meaty piece of his skin between her teeth and bit down until she tasted blood.

Sen'jin gripped her ass until bruises formed as he moaned wontonly for her. He ground his hips against her with bruising strength and almost came right there. The feeling of her latched onto him with her teeth tasting him so thoroughly was almost enough to toss him over the edge.

He gasped as she released his neck, his gaze foggy as he beheld her. She leaned back against the tree almost in a dream like state, his blood running down her chin to drip onto her pale breasts. The contrast was beautiful. Stooping low, Sen'jin lapped at the blood on her breasts, the metallic taste charging him up once more.

Growling a deep feral growl, Sen'jin released Luna from against the tree and stood her on her own feet, before kneeling before her and working her robe down over her hips and removing his own trousers.

His member sprang free as soon as it could, long and hard and desperate for release. Lunaea reached for it but Sen'jin grasped her wrist before she could reach it, and spun her around to face the tree she had been pinned against. He pulled her to the ground with him and sat her backwards on his lap, his dick pressing against the front of her, her back against his chest.

"My turn." he whispered in her ear. His right hand went between her legs to expertly find her nub and began rubbing, swirling, and petting. Her breath grew heavy within moments.

His left hand reached up to tangle in her hair and pull her head back against his left shoulder, exposing her neck to him. He drug his broken tusk teasingly against the tender flesh, and he smirked when he heard a hitch in her breath. Nuzzling where her neck met her shoulder, he licked the tender flesh for a moment before biting down. He felt her instantly arc her ass back against him as though begging for more. Happily he obliged, and bit down until his mouth filled with blood.

Lunaea groaned loudly, her voice echoing through the trees. His fingers wove themselves between her legs expertly, and she felt a deliciously heavy feeling pooling quickly in her abdomen, threatening to overflow at any moment. Reaching down, she grasped at his hard member and began to stroke it, dragging a moan from his throat that vibrated against her neck and down her chest.

Releasing her neck, Luna felt him begin to lick at the wound, his rough tongue driving shivers down her spine as her breathing grew ever more labored. Growning frantic, she began to pump his member even faster as her own climax grew nearer, causing his chest to rumble in pleasure.

Suddenly Lunaea felt arms loop under both her legs and spin her around, coming face to face with Sen'jin.

"I want ta see your face." He said as he guided her hand to his throbbing penis. Grasping it firmly, Luna kept eye contact as she dragged the head of him across her wetness before pressing it against her entrance. Rolling her hips, she began to sit on him, slowly. Watching his face with fascination as he closed his eyes and tilted his head back, sucking in air between his teeth when he was fully sheathed inside her.

She stared at him as she rolled her hips once, lifting herself nearly off of him before sitting back down completely. She felt a delicious satisfaction at the moan he made, as well as the feeling of him completely filling her. No other man had fit inside her so well.

Regaining his control, Sen'jin grabbed her ass firmly before lifting her up, his head just barely inside of her.

"Now." he pressed her back down sharply, his dick pressing into her so suddenly she couldn't help but throw her head back and moan to the skies. "Come fo me" he groaned as he forced her hips to move against him again and again.

She began to move herself, pumping up and down on him, her mind completely fogged over to the sensation, the feeling of him filling her so completely. He touched every part of her she wanted touched. Sitting up straight, her hands on his legs to steady her, she began to bounce more desperately, her breathing turning into sharp gasps.

Sen'jin's hands gripped her hips tightly as he watched her bounce on him. Her pale breasts bobbing up and down were mesmerizing. But his favorite thing to watch was the point where she met him. Where he penetrated her. He watched her swallow his dick over and over and felt the scalding heat of her as she clenched him tighter and tighter.

He felt her getting closer, and she felt him getting harder inside her, both were close to climaxing.

"Come fo me!" he all but shouted. Luna screamed as she leaned forward and pressed her lips against his, devouring him in a rough kiss, her hands tangled in his hair tightly.

"Luna." he groaned. "Come fo me Luna!"

Fire.

Fire consumed them both as they clutched at eachother. They shouted their release, grinding against eachother to get as much of eachother as they could. Sen'jin dug his nails into her back as he panted against her lips. Luna kept her tight grasp on his hair as she felt herself quivering against him.

But neither of them moved. When the fluids ran cool, and the bites and scratches started to burn, neither of them risked breaking their bond. He leaned back against a nearby tree and burried his face in her chest, he could still smell the remnants of his own blood there. He felt her release the tight hold she had on his hair, but she kept her fingers entangled there.

But they stayed together. She felt him grow soft inside her and reveled in the sore, complete feeling until she fell asleep with her chin propped against his head, almost like she was cradling him. He stayed awake a while longer, half expecting to suddenly wake and find it all to be a dream. A highly satisfying, fever induced dream. But he felt her warm skin against his, and he felt her heart beat as it thumped against his cheek. He listened as it beat solid and slow with sleep. It was very much alive against him, something not even his imagination could conjure. It was that warm heartbeat that reassured him. He was safe here. She was alive and she was with him. And she was his.

Clutching at her even tighter, his heart practically skipping through his chest, Sen'jin smiled as he fell asleep. Determined to keep her this time.


	9. What Everyone Wants

_**~I bring a gift! A long chapter. =3**_

_**~Scroll 9~**_

The next morning Sen'jin woke alone. Panic quickly gripped his chest, stealing his breath like icy hands around his throat. He sat up with a gasp, touching the sand where she had last been, it was cold.

His mind filled with doubt, the same crippling doubt that had been his constant companion for years. Had he imagined her, dreamed her up to ease his frozen heart?

He refused to beleive it.

Jumping to his feet he sprinted towards the beach, slapping away any plants that got in his way, stubbing a toe in his rush.

_'I know she was real. I felt her. She was warm'_ He told himself as he clumsily barreled through the foliage, before bursting through the bushes onto the beach. She wasn't there.

His heart stiffened, he felt his chest tighten.

"Jak?"

His head snapped to the left, where she kneeled on the beach, her knees in the surf, the sunrise painting her hair a riot of colors. Her gaze was concerned as she stood and took a step towards him, but he was already barreling towards her.

Her breath was knocked out of her with an 'oof' as he tackled her to the wet sand, clinging to her, squeezing her to his chest. She felt him bury his nose into her wet hair and take a deep breath. She could feel his heart beating rapidly in his chest and knew he had become frightened at her absence when he awoke.

She lifted her head up and pressed her lips to his nose, causing his eyes to open. Smiling at him, she spoke.

"I'm not going anywhere." Her voice was soft, "I love you. Stupid troll." She grinned, a bit of her old self peeking through. He couldn't help but grin back at her, before pressing his lips against hers. Much more gently than the previous evening, Sen'jin slipped his tongue into her mouth to massage hers, earning him a soft moan of appreciation.

Rolling her over, he pressed her back to his as his right arm slipped under her right leg and lifted. His left was wrapped under her neck, his strong fingers keeping her head turned up to keep the kiss intact. He tasted her slowly with his tongue as his right hand guided his suddenly hard member towards her opening.

TTT

She felt him press against her and, admitedly, she was a tiny bit apprehensive. She was a bit sore from last night. But his slow kiss, and his gentle hands kept her calm, and ready. His fingers against her front teased her expertly as he slid himself inside. He wasn't small, by any means. Probably average by troll standards, but head and...head above any night elves.

A quick thrust had him completely sheathed inside her, her natural lubricant abundant enough to provide no resistance. He moved slowly, but surely, caressing that sweet bundle of nerves inside her with every stroke, his right hand keeping her right leg bent up and backwards to keep the way clear for him.

A particular thrust had her breaking their kiss to moan loudly, her head tilting back as her back arched. He growled at the sensual display, his mouth moving to her neck to lick gently at the bite mark there. She shivered as his rough tongue touched the aching wound, it stung in the best way.

It didn't take long for them to reach climax. She came first, moaning and panting and squeezing the hand that kept caressing her. It was her moans, the deep throaty moans and the knowledge that he caused them that brought him to finish. He forced her chin up and captured her lips with his again as he came, growling against her as she squeezed him and moaned.

They lay in the afterglow until the sun rose completely, before cleaning themselves off in the water and going to find some semblance of clothes left. His leather undergear was still in one piece, aside from a few popped seams in the cheap twine, which she promised to fix. Her leather robe, however, was a bit worse for wear. The front had a ragged rip from neck to breasts, the ties in the back mostly torn. The kilt was still in good shape, not having been ripped from her.

Opting to go shirtless, Sen'jin proffered her his shirt, all the essentials would be covered, but it was obviously not made for those of the female variety.

"So." She spoke first, a question she had been itching to ask clawed it's way up her throat. "Why does everyone here call you Sen'jin? I thought that was Vol'jin's fathers name."

He stiffened slightly when she asked. He knew she would, he did give her a false name after all. Sighing, he ruffled his no longer mohawked hair and turned to face her. Expecting to find her angry, as was her wont all those years ago, he was shocked to find her calm, and curious.

"It was too much." He blurted out. He didn't know how else to word it. "Wearing the name of tha great Vol'jin's father. Ah was expected to be a great leader, a powerful shaman, but I'm none of those tings'. Ah'm average at best."

She slipped her hand in his.

"Ah'm next in line ta lead tha Darkspear." He murmured. "Unless Vol'jin has a son."

She let go of his hand, and took a step back.

"So. We can't.." She began, her eyes narrowing.

He took a step towards her and she took another back, obviously not wanting to touch him.

"If you become the leader of the Darkspear." She began. "We cannot be.. together." Her voice was soft, be he could hear that edge, that sharp angry edge she used to wear so often. It was a defensive mechanism she used.

He said nothing, and his silence spoke volumes.

"I used anotha name tah escape this life. I nevah mea-" He was interupted by a far off scream. Both their heads snapped to the west, towards Sen'jin village on the mainland. Lunaea instantly bolted towards the water. It was relatively shallow between the island and the mainland, she could swim it in minutes.

"Luna wait!" Sen'jin shouted. She didn't of course, and he growled as he took off after her. He cast a quick water spell on his feet and took off after her, sprinting across the waves. Running across water was akin to running on wet sand, awkward as they both moved under your feet. It took practice, which he was lacking, not to fall when walking across it.

He got halfway to the village when he fell, and growled when he couldn't get up, before deactivating the spell and swimming. He spotted Luna a fair bit ahead of him, and a brief memory flashed in his mind of their last time swimming together. The memory caused his heart to ache with a stabbing feeling.

_'If you become the leader of the Darkspear, we cannot be together...'_ Her voice was so soft, he could feel her pain at the thought. His aching heart echoed hers.

The waves seemed to be working against him as he struggled to swim to shore. He felt his muscles burn as he struggled harder and harder. He saw Lunaea reach the shore and dart towards the sounds of panic and fear. In the back of his mind he admired the pale figure she cut against the suddenly darkening sky, before a sudden wave dragged him under the sea.

Straightening his legs out he was shocked when his feet didn't meet the cool sand, but instead found nothing but water. He began to panic as he fought to find the surface, his lungs burning for air. Distantly, as though in a dream, he heard a dark voice cackling.

_'Dear, dear Sen'jin. Watching you struggle really does make these old bones feel alive once more.'_ The voice was deep, though raspy, as though the throat is belonged too wasn't used too often.

Sen'jin twisted and turned in the darkening water fighting to find the body to the voice.

_'It's no use my boy, I have caught you!'_ And he cackled again, the bodyless voice echoing through Sen'jin's skull. It amplified, bouncing around in his head until he saw stars, and his ears rang. He saw blood float through the water and absently noted that it was coming from his nose, but he could do nothing to stop it.

He tried to move his hands but they were as lead. He rolled his eyes up and saw the sun get covered in dark rolling clouds, as an icy cold hand wrapped around his ankle and began to drag him through the waters.

_'We cannot be together..'_ Her soft voice echoed in his head, cutting through the cackling, as he drifted off into the darkness.

TTT

Reaching the shore, Luna was bombarded with screams and panic and flames and smoke. Taking a moment to adjust to the sudden sensory overload, she took a shaking breath and bolted among the burning huts.

Fighting her way through the throngs of running people, she slid to a stop when she found the cause. Undead.

Ghouls.

Ghouls were running rampant, attacking eveything with a pulse, feasting on those without.

Lunaea was suddenly cold, surrounded by frost, her fingers numb. Her heart was beating too fast, her pulse leaping through her throat. Her vision was blinking in and out. Darkness, a ghoul chasing a woman. Darkness. Several ghouls feasting on a man with pale while hair. Darkness...

A piercing scream brought Lunas attention to a young child, a boy, being dragged away from his screaming mother as ghouls tore into her legs and back. Vicera and blood coated the sand a dark burgandy. The color tried to send her mind spiraling into another world, another life, but the young boys scream as a ghoul brought his arm to it's mouth had her muscles twitching to move.

_'Move'_ she told herself. _'Save him!'_ But she was frozen, she could do nothing.

"Please!" A voice screamed, it was the mother, her legs tore apart. She was barely alive as ghouls fed on her.

"Please." She said softer as she died. "Please save my son..." She whispered, a mere breath before her eyes faded and her light was gone. Another single moment.

The boy screamed again as the ghoul bit into his arm and tore a meaty piece from his forearm.

"Stop! Stop it hurts!" He screamed, kicking against his assailant. But the ghoul felt nothing.

Time slowed for Lunaea, as she walked towards the ghoul, suddenly in full control of her limbs. The ghoul raised it's eyes to her as she walked towards it, her hand held out to her side. She watched as the ghoul released the boy, as it's eyes widened at her right hand. She watched it take a step back as she reached it, and her right hand lashed out like lightening, and her claws decapitating it with one swipe.

Grabbing the boy with her left hand, she cradled him against her side as she ran in the direction everyone else had run. Reaching the edge of the village she sat him down and ripped a shirt off of a nearby corpse, tightly wrapped his bleeding arm, and said one word.

"Run." and he did. He ran towards the boats not too far from there.

Lunaea didn't have time to inspect her hand, as another scream pierced the sky.

Bolting back through the burning village, she came to the road into town, just in time to see a man get the life drained from him. She watched as a tall troll, dressed in black robes with a white mask, stood among a horde of undead. He handled the dead man like a rag doll, as he turned to look at Lunaea, his yellow eyes piercing her soul.

She knew where she had seen those yellow eyes before. The undead.

She felt him stare at her as he tossed the man to the ghouls to feast upon. The sound of their smacking lips, and tearing teeth echoed too loudly among the quietly burning huts. It was then that she noticed that the screaming had stopped. Had they all ran? Or all died...

"Ahhh.." he spoke. "There you are my dearest." His voice sounded like a whisper.

"I was wondering when you would show up."

"What do you want!" Lunaea demanded, her voice bringing her to the attention of the ghouls. The man grinned, or at least she thought he did.

"I want what everyone wants dearest." He whispered. "Power!" He shouted, as a sudden weight settled onto her. Dread poured into her from every pore, crushing her body, squeezing her lungs until she could barely draw breath. Luna fell to her knees under the crushing weight. But, there was one part of her that remained unscathed. She felt the dread fight to grasp her heart, but it could find no purchase. Like trying to run across a wet marble floor, it slid off.

Clinging to that feeling, Lunaea delved deep and tried to coax that flame bigger, for a flame it was. She dug her metaphysical fingers into the embers and teased the feeling alive, burning herself in the process, but where she was burned, she felt no dread.

Taking a deep breath, Lunaea prepared to dive wholly into the fire, until icy fingers stopped her. Snapping her eyes open, Luna saw the undead man had a hold of both of her wrists.

"Oh no you don't little girl. I need you dark, lost... dreadful." He cackled again. He transfered both of her wrists to one of his large hands, reaching the other around to rip at her hair, but the moment his fingers touched her hair, she thought of Jak, and how he ran his fingers through her hair before kissing her, and suddenly she was on fire.

The man hissed and released her as her skin suddenly burned with a firey glow. The man cradled his hand against himself, inspecting the blisters, before raising his eyes to the glowing elf.

But where Luna had been there was no elf, but a saber. A pure white, glowing, angry, saber. His eyes widened as he beheld her, as she stretched to show her lean muscles, and her eyes met his. And she was angry.

"Fool!" He screeched moment's before she lept at him, sinking her fangs into his bony arm. He shrieked as he shook her off, flinging her with a strength that betrayed his gaunt form. She flew off as his flesh gave way, a foul taste in her mouth as she was thrown into a nearby hut.

"I was planning to keep you alive a while longer elfling!" His voice screeched from the air, " But now I think I'll kill you slowly, and painfully!" His rage was palpable as Lunaea watched him dissapear in a puff of black smoke, not unlike the smoke from the burning building.

The smoke from the hut around her burned her eyes, and the floor underneath her burned her paws. The entrance was engulfed in flames. Was this what he meant to kill her slowly?

Throwing herself against the wall, she was suddenly a night elf again, and her strength wasn't enough to break the wall. Panic blossomed in her chest as she threw her shoulder into the wall until it cracked, and her fists bled the force of her beating.

Falling to the floor, she leaned her left side against the wall as tears overtook her. She couldn't get out now. Lifting her hands, she imagined them as claws again, but she could not force a change. Clenching her fists until her palms bled, she sobbed as she remained an elf. If she could become a saber again, she could rip the boards apart. But alas, it seemed she was meant to burn to death in a sea side hut.

Hunching against the wall, she began coughing and sobbing as smoke filled her lungs. Her nails pathetically scratching the planks as heat and smoke overtook her, and darkness began to coat the edges of her vision, like ink dripping into her eyes.

"Help.." she whispered, so softly that the flames ate her words. "Jak.." Cursing her fraility, Luna closed her eyes, listening to the flames grow ever closer.

Just as she felt herself begin to drift off into oxygen deprived slumber, an axe bit into the wood less than an inch from her nose. She felt the presence of the cool steel as it was jerked out of the wood, only to strike again in the same spot. She imagined a hole being cut into the wood and Jak pulling her from the flames in the last second, but it wasn't Jak's voice she heard calling to her.

"Come on ya blasted elf! Wake up!" It was Zen'tabra. "Ya just gonna sit there and let the flames take ya?!" Another strike in the wood, and the planks gave way, causing Luna to fall backwards out of the hut, unable to move. Several pairs of hands grasped at her, pulling her away from the fires, near the beach.

Lunaea gasped and choked as cool water was forced down her throat, before greedily sucking in the fresh clean air. Rolling onto her side, she coughed up black fleghm, as her chest heaved and wracked itself to get rid of the smoke.

A hand pulled her hair out of her face as she coughed, gently petting her as a soft blue overcame her. It was Vanira, healing her with what little healing magic she had. She was more of an attack now ask questions later kind of woman.

"Wha happened?!" A loud voice suddenly yelled from above her. Lifting her head up, she faintly made out Vol'jin's spikey back piece through her foggy vision.

"The man.." She coughed, hacking up another black glob. "The man from Spitescale cove. He's a lich." She coughed again, but this time unable to catch her breath. She coughed up pieces of black gunk until she couldn't anymore, and finally, mercifully, she fell unconcious.

_**~Sorry for the long update. I promise I will keep updateing, no matter how slow. I won't let this story fade into the abyss!~**_


End file.
